DID YOU KNOW: History of the Manila Railroad Company

On Jan. 8, 1917, the Philippine government acquired Manila Railroad Company (MRRCo), the railway system in Luzon built by the Spanish.

Previously named the Ferrocaril de Manila-Dagupan, the railway began operating in 1891.

Under the commonwealth government ownership, the railroad network expanded some 1,140 route-kilometers.

The first Bicol train began operations in 1931 and the unified railroad system from San Fernando, La Union, to Legazpi, Albay, was formally inaugurated in 1938.

But during World War II, most of the improvements on the rail network were lost. —Marielle Medina