After typhoon damage largely wiped-out the remaining railway infrastructure in the country, train travel in the Philippines in now restricted to mass transit and commuter services.
In a country comprised of thousands of islands and spread over a huge area, it’s perhaps no surprise that train travel never really took hold in the Philippines. Road and sea transport has always been the preferred mode of moving people and goods around the country and the only significant long-distance railway line was damaged beyond repair many years ago.
For the time being, the only train journeys made in the Philippines are on commuter-focused metro trains around the capital city, Manila and a few other large cities.
Disclaimer: This website contains affiliate links. Should you click to purchase, it is at no additional cost to you, but we receive a small commission.
What services used to be in operation?
Until 2012, a useful service ran from Manila to Clark, but the line was damaged by two separate typhoons and it has been closed since. There doesn’t seem any imminent sign of it reopening and it’s likely the government have decided the risk of further typhoon damage makes the whole venture unsustainable.
Plans for the future…
The vast majority of future railway plans in the Philippines are based around commuter services, specifically in the Greater Manila region.
There are tentative plans to build long-distance lines on the two largest islands, Luzon and Mindanao, but these have repeatedly come up against political and financial obstacles, plus the impact of the Covid pandemic. Largely reliant on Chinese investment, it’s possible these projects will gradually come to life, likely as smaller parts of the planned line initially.
Useful reads before you go:
Top 10 tips for Southeast Asia train travel
7 reasons why you should travel by train around Southeast Asia
5 AMAZING train journeys in Southeast Asia
10 essentials experienced travellers always take on trains in Southeast Asia
Book your train travel:
If you have found this website useful for planning your Southeast Asia train travel, you can show your support by buying me a coffee. Thanks so much!
