Transportation in the Philippines covers the transportation methods within this archipelagic nation of over 7,500 islands. From a previously underdeveloped state of transportation, the government of the Philippines has been improving transportation through various direct infrastructure projects, and these include an increase in air, sea, road, and rail transportation and transport hubs.
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) is a state-owned railway company in the Philippines which operates one commuter rail service between Metro Manila and Laguna, and local services between Sipocot, Naga and Legazpi in the Bicol Region. It is an attached agency of the Department of Transportation.
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
The Manila Light Rail Transit System, commonly known as the LRT, is an urban rail transit system that primarily serves Metro Manila, Philippines. Although categorized as a light rail system because it originally used light rail vehicles, it presently has characteristics of a rapid transit system, such as high passenger throughput, exclusive right-of-way, and later use of full metro rolling stock. The LRT is jointly-operated by the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), a government corporation attached to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), and the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC). Along with the Manila Metro Rail Transit System and the Metro Commuter Line of the Philippine National Railways, the system makes up Metro Manila's rail infrastructure.
Rail transportation in the Philippines is currently used mostly to transport passengers within Metro Manila and provinces of Laguna and Quezon, as well as a commuter service in the Bicol Region. Freight transport services once operated in the country, but these services were halted. However, there are plans to restore old freight services and build new lines. From a peak of 1,100 kilometers (680 mi), the country currently has a railway footprint of 533.14 kilometers (331.28 mi), of which only 129.85 kilometers (80.69 mi) are operational as of 2024, including all the urban rail lines. World War II, natural calamities, underspending, and neglect have all contributed to the decline of the Philippine railway network. In the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report, the Philippines has the lowest efficiency score among other Asian countries in terms of efficiency of train services, receiving a score of 2.4, and ranking 86th out of 101 countries globally. The government is currently expanding the railway network up to 1,900 kilometers (1,200 mi) by 2022 through numerous projects.
The Strong Republic Transit System was launched to integrate the various rail lines providing public transport in Manila in the Philippines. The program was initiated by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on June 14, 2003. It aimed to provide a "reliable, seamless and integrated mass transit system that would be at par with international standards" through the unification of already-existing rail infrastructure under one transit system and fare structure. The Manila Light Rail Transit System, the Manila Metro Rail Transit System and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Northrail and Southrail lines were covered by the SRTS project.
The Department of Transportation is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the maintenance and expansion of viable, efficient, and dependable transportation systems as effective instruments for national recovery and economic progress. It is responsible for the country's land, air, and sea communications infrastructure.
The Light Rail Transit Line 1, commonly referred to as LRT Line 1 or LRT-1, is a light rapid transit system line in Metro Manila, Philippines, operated by Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) and owned by the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) as part of the Manila Light Rail Transit System. Originally referred to as Metrorail and the Yellow Line, LRT Line 1 was reclassified to be the Green Line in 2012. It travels in a general north–south direction from Baclaran to Monumento, and then east–west from Monumento to Fernando Poe Jr. Currently, the line consists of 20 stations and runs on 19.65 kilometers of fully elevated route. Although it has the characteristics of light rail, such as with the type of rolling stock used, it is more akin to a rapid transit system owing to its total grade separation and high passenger throughput.
The Light Rail Transit Line 2, also known as LRT Line 2,LRT-2 or Megatren, is a heavy rail rapid transit line in Metro Manila in the Philippines, generally running in an east–west direction along the Radial Road 6 and a portion of the Circumferential Road 1, referred to as the Purple Line, and previously known as the Mass Rapid Transit Line 2 or MRT Line 2 (MRT-2).
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates rapid transit, light rail, and bus rapid transit services in the Boston metropolitan area, collectively referred to as the rapid transit, subway, or the T system.
The transportation system in Metro Manila covers the road network, rail network, ferries, ports and airports located with the metropolitan Manila area. Road transportation in Metro Manila is diverse, composed of many types of private and public transport vehicles. These include Taxis, buses, jeepneys, tricycles and pedicabs. In some areas, especially in Divisoria and large public markets, two-stroke motors are fitted in the pedicabs and are used for goods transport. Regardless of modernity, horse-drawn kalesas are still used in the streets of Binondo and Intramuros. Ridesharing services such as Grab also operate within in Metro Manila.
The Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRTS), commonly known as the MRT, is a rapid transit system that primarily serves Metro Manila, Philippines. Along with the Manila Light Rail Transit System and the Metro Commuter Line of the Philippine National Railways, the system makes up Metro Manila's rail infrastructure.
The PNR Metro Commuter Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Philippine National Railways. It was first inaugurated as the Metro Manila Commuter Service in 1970, and originally served the North Main Line and the South Main Lines, as well as the defunct Carmona and Guadalupe branch lines. Since then, it adopted several names such as Metrotrak and Metrotren, before adopting its present name in the late 2000s. The line is also nicknamed the Orange Line due to its designation in the 1970s.
The Light Rail Transit Line 6 is a proposed rapid transit system in Cavite, Philippines. There have been two proposals for the line, with the first one shelved immediately in 2018. Another proposal emerged in 2017 and is currently under review by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The Metro Manila Subway, formerly known as the Mega Manila Subway (MMS), is an under-construction underground rapid transit line in Metro Manila, Philippines. The 36-kilometer (22 mi) line, which will run north–south between Valenzuela, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, Parañaque and Pasay, consists of 15 stations between the East Valenzuela and Bicutan stations. It will become the country's second direct airport rail link after the North–South Commuter Railway, with a branch line to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR), also known as the Clark–Calamba Railway, is a 147-kilometer (91-mile) urban rail transit system under construction in the island of Luzon, Philippines. Running from New Clark City in Capas to Calamba, Laguna with 36 stations and four services, the railway is designed to improve connectivity within the Greater Manila Area, and it will be integrated with the railway network in the region.
Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) is a rail service company based in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a consortium of companies engaged in the operation and maintenance of the Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 1 since September 2015. The consortium is composed of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation's Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. (MPLRC); AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. ; and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd.
The PNR South Main Line is one of the two trunk lines that form the Philippine National Railways' network in the island of Luzon, Philippines. It was opened in stages between 1916 and 1938 by the Manila Railroad. Services peaked in the 1940s until the late 1960s, when the system started to decline. Since 1988, it was the only functioning inter-city rail after its counterpart to the north, the North Main Line, was closed. The intercity section of the line in Laguna, Quezon and the Bicol Region was then closed and reopened repeatedly between 2004 and 2014 due to a combination of declining ridership and was closed since then. Currently, only a little more than half of line is operational PNR Metro Commuter Line between Tutuban station and Laguna, Inter-Provincial Commuter from San Pedro to Lucena and the Bicol Commuter regional rail service between Sipocot, Naga Camarines Sur and Legazpi Albay.
Rail transportation in the Greater Manila Area is a major part of the transportation system in Metro Manila and its surrounding areas. It consists of the Manila Light Rail Transit System, Manila Metro Rail Transit System, and the PNR Metro Commuter Line. The network makes up the majority of active railways in the country and bear the brunt of providing the metropolis with rail as a faster alternative mode of transport other than buses and jeepneys. However, these systems are currently insufficient for the rapidly expanding metropolis; to address this, new lines and line extensions are under construction, which will extend the system far out into neighboring regions.
