page_title: Philippine National Railways
section_title: American period
hierarchical_section_title: Philippine National Railways / History / American period
caption_attribution_description: English: Bond of the Manila Railway Company (1906) Ltd, issued 10. May 1907 Deutsch: Bond der Manila Railway Company (1906) Ltd. vom 10. Mai 1907
context_page_description: The Philippine National Railways 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 City and Legazpi City in the Bicol Region. It is an attached agency of the Department of Transportation.
  PNR began operations on November 24, 1892 as the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan, during the Spanish colonial period, and later becoming the Manila Railroad Company during the American colonial period. It became the Philippine National Railways on June 20, 1964 by virtue of Republic Act No. 4156. PNR used to operate over 1,100 km of route from La Union to the Bicol Region. However, neglect reduced PNR's service. Persistent problems with informal settlers in the 1990s contributed further to PNR's decline. In 2006, Typhoons Milenyo and Reming caused severe damage to the network, resulting in the suspension of the Manila-Bicol services.
context_section_description: Additional legislation was passed in 1909 authorizing further railway construction and the use of government bonds to finance them, and by 1916, 792.5 kilometers (492.4 mi) of track had been built by the company, which had reorganized itself as the Manila Railroad Company of New Jersey (MRR). Apart from the North and South Main Lines, other lines branching out of these two main lines were built, like the lines to Rosales and San Quintin, Pangasinan; San Jose and Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija; Dau, Carmen, Floridablanca and Arayat, all in Pampanga province, as well as inside the US Air Base Fort Stotsenburg which became Clark Air Base; Antipolo, Taytay, and Montalban, a spur line to Nielsen Field in what is now Ayala Avenue in the Makati Financial District from Culi Culi (now Pasay Road) Station, all in Rizal province; Cavite City and the nearby US Air Base of Sangley Point as well as Noveleta and Naic, both in Cavite province; Canlubang, Santa Cruz and Pagsanjan all in Laguna province; Batangas City and Bauan both in Batangas province, as well as a line connecting San Pablo City in Laguna to Luta (later Malvar) in Batangas province (this used to be part of Main Line South until a shorter cut-off line connecting Los Banos on the Santa-Cruz/Pangsanjan line to San Pablo was opened); Port Ragay in the Bicol province of Camarines Sur; as well as till Tabaco from Legaspi, Albay.
  Similar to other railroads at the time, the Manila Railroad Company suffered from financial difficulties during World War I, and on February 4, 1916, the Philippine Assembly passed Act No. 2574, authorizing the Governor-General to negotiate for the nationalization of the MRR's assets.  The MRR was eventually nationalized in January 1917, with the Philippine government paying ₱8 million to the company's owners and assuming ₱53.9 million in outstanding debt. Consequently, the MRR's management shifted from British to American hands, and in 1923, José Paez became the first Filipino general manager.
  During the 1920s, the MRR embarked on a general program of improvements as a result of operating surpluses accrued over much of the decade.  The ₱30 million program allowed for the extension of railway service on the North Main Line from Dagupan to San Fernando in La Union, the extension of the South Main Line to Legazpi in Albay, and the construction of several spur lines. The last rail connecting Manila to Bicol was laid on November 17, 1937 and regular direct service between Manila and Legazpi was inaugurated on May 8, 1938, and by 1941, the MRR operated 1,140.5 kilometers (708.7 mi) of track.
  On December 14, 1941, at the start of World War II, the MRR was put under U.S. military control, and on December 30, the MRR management was ordered to allow U.S. military forces to destroy network infrastructure, resulting in very extensive damage to train facilities and right of way.  Coupled with further damage during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, where the Imperial Japanese Army operated services on a very limited basis using whatever could be salvaged, and further fighting in the Allied liberation of the Philippines by the combined American and Filipino forces a few years later, damages to railroad property amounted to around ₱30 million.  By the end of the war, only 452 kilometers (281 mi) were operational, largely as a result of the United States Army and the Philippine Commonwealth Army performing temporary repairs on railroad infrastructure for military purposes.  MRR property was later returned to the Philippine government on February 1, 1946.
caption: Bond of the Manila Railway Company Ltd, issued 10. May 1907
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