LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Sen. Francis Escudero has promised to support the effort to bring back the “Bicol Express,” the once glorious rail line from Manila to the Bicol region.
Speaking before members of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Southern Luzon in Daet, Camarines Norte, on Friday, Escudero said the revival of the rail line bodes well for the economy and tourism in the Bicol region.
He said he would closely monitor the progress of the South Line Railway of the state-run Philippine National Railways (PNR) to ensure that it would be started as promised under the Aquino administration.
Escudero, who hails from Sorsogon province, said in a statement Saturday he was glad the Aquino administration had laid the groundwork for the revival and modernization of the Bicol Express, the oldest train service in Southeast Asia which started operations in the 1920s.
The Bicol Express, which used to run from the Tutuban station in Manila to Legazpi City in Albay, was suspended in 2006 after most of its tracks were destroyed by Typhoon “Reming.”
It resumed operations up to Naga City in 2012 but this was suspended again barely a year later when a train derailed and destroyed railway tracks in Quezon province.
The government recently announced it was bidding out the P170.7-billion South Line Railway project, a 653-km line from the PNR station in Tutuban up to Matnog, Sorsogon, passing through Legazpi City.
It has been dubbed as the Aquino administration’s biggest public-private partnership project to date.
Escudero said he was confident the PNR south line would help Bicol attract more tourists and businesses, maximizing its immense potential for economic growth.
Construction of the railway line is expected to start in early 2016, while commercial operation has been set for 2020.
Once fully operational, the PNR south line would cut by more than half the 12-hour travel time from Manila to Bicol. Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon