page_title: Tranvia
section_title: Operations
hierarchical_section_title: Tranvia / Operations
caption_attribution_description: Jones Bridge
context_page_description: The tranvía was a streetcar system that served Manila and its surrounding cities during the early years of the 20th century.
context_section_description: The tramway system began construction in 1885 as an enterprise of Don Jacobo Zobel, the Compañia de los Tranvías de Filipinas. The Malabon Line was first to be accomplished in 1888, utilizing eight passenger coaches and four German-manufactured steam locomotives. Full operations opened in 1889 with the addition of lines serving Intramuros, Malate, Sampaloc, and Malacañan within Manila. Unlike the Malabon Line, the trams that serviced within Manila are pulled by horses.
  The tramway was an hourly service in each direction, owing to popular demand. At the Malabon Line, the earliest services begin 5:30 a.m. and end at 7:30 p.m. from Tondo; trips from Malabon were from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., a schedule met every hour at mornings, and every half-hour beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon.
  As the aftermath of the Filipino uprising and the American conquest, the tranvia was left in a poor state; in 1902, only ten horse-drawn cars service for a day. Thus, ownership was passed under the Manila Electric, Rail, and Light Authority as Charles Swift won the bid for the streetcar operation. By the end of the year 1905, the system was inaugurated under Meralco's handling, and had around 63 km (39 mi) of light rail track. The streetcar system at that time connected Binondo, Escolta, San Nicolas, Tondo, Caloocan, Malabon, Quiapo, Sampaloc, Santa Mesa, San Miguel, and other areas within Metro Manila. Under the American ownership, the light railroad workers are mostly Filipino.
  The tramway system gained line extensions, such as a line that runs from Santa Ana to Pasig, adding 11.6 km (7.2 mi) of railway length. Larger streetcars of double-wheel trucks and closed sides are added to the fleet, complementing the demand. In 1920, a five-year reconstruction program was undertaken for the 15-year old tramway, where newer streetcars are designed and manufactured by the company workshops; by 1924, the fleet consists of around 170 cars.
  Complementing Meralco's transportation businesses, autobuses are added in services as a streetcar system expansion was deemed "not economically viable". In 1927, 20 autobuses were manufactured. When World War II began in 1941, the streetcar fleet was reduced from 170 to 109 as the bus fleet was expanded to 190. The war was the major setback for Meralco for its transportation business, causing poor maintenance alongside the 1943 floods, including the Battle of Manila which saw the extensive destruction of the city of Manila and consequently, the streetcar system.
caption: A tranvia along the Puente de España. The bridge was now replaced by the Jones Bridge.
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