‘Revival of Laguna-Albay train service needs P16 billion’

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos will have to wait until 2026 before train services resume between Laguna and Albay, as the Philippine National Railways (PNR) requires at least P16 billion to fix the inter-regional line.

Initially, the PNR was supposed to reopen this year the rail operations between Calamba, Laguna and Legazpi, Albay to provide a cheaper and quicker way of traveling the Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions.

The resumption of the Laguna-Albay line would have been beneficial to travelers to and from Bicol, as land travel to the region could now take up to 15 hours when the weather is bad.

Also, Manila flights to Naga are bound to be relocated to the Clark International Airport with the impending ban on turboprops at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The Naga Airport, in its current build, can only land turboprops, and efforts to upgrade it are facing delays.

PNR general manager Deovanni Miranda said the agency has yet to receive the needed funding to reconnect Laguna and Albay via rail. Based on a 2024 study, the PNR will need a minimum of P16 billion to revive the line.

Miranda said the PNR is spending P5 billion to reconstruct bridges, stations and tracks, with the remainder going to support services like depots, maintenance and stabling.

However, Miranda said the P16-billion proposal has yet to include the cost of relocating informal settlers living close to the tracks.

Without the necessary budget, Miranda believes the best case scenario for the PNR is to reopen the Laguna-Albay line by 2026.

Recently, the PNR suffered a series of setbacks in infrastructure projects caused by typhoons. In October 2024, Typhoon Kristine destroyed a bridge in Ragay, Camarines Sur, which the PNR is expected to restore in four months if procurement of materials goes as scheduled.

A landslide also occurred in Lopez, Quezon in December 2024, damaging 200 meters in wayside assets. The PNR is working with the local government of Lopez on the relocation plan for residents affected by the landslide.

Given the importance of the Lopez stretch to the revival of the Laguna-Albay line, Miranda said the PNR is hiring its own consultant to study the soil situation in the area.

The objective, Miranda said, is for the PNR to come up with interim and long-term solutions for the repair of the Lopez segment and resumption of Laguna-Albay trips.

“The interim option – to allow low volume of trains – is possible to complete this year, while the long-term permanent – to allow higher volume of trains – will probably take 12 to 15 months of construction,” Miranda told The STAR.

The PNR is reactivating the Laguna-Albay line for the meantime that the government is looking for a financier for the P175.32-billion South Long Haul (SLH) Project. The SLH seeks to revive the Bicol Express by building a high-speed rail between Calamba and Daraga, Albay.

Originally, the government had tapped China to serve as the lender for the project. However, the Philippines withdrew its loan application in 2022 on concerns on interest rates, and the SLH has seen little to no progress since.

Sources within the DOTr told The STAR that multilateral lender Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is also led by China, is being eyed to take over the SLH.

Currently, the PNR is operational only in the south of Luzon through the Bicol Commuter Train (Sipocot-Naga and Legazpi-Naga) and the Inter-Provincial Commuter (Lucena-Calamba).

Last year the PNR stopped all commuter trains in Metro Manila to make way for the construction of the P873.6-billion North-South Commuter Railway.