World War II, natural calamities, underspending, and neglect have all contributed to the decline of the Philippine railway network.

[11] On June 25, 1875, King Alfonso XII of Spain promulgated a Royal Decree directing the Office of the Inspector of Public Works of the Philippines to submit a general plan for railroads on Luzon.

A concession for the construction of a railway line from Manila to Dagupan was granted to Don Edmundo Sykes of the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan on June 1, 1887.

[13] With the American takeover of the Philippines, the Philippine Commission allowed the Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company (Meralco) to take over the properties of the Compañia de los Tranvias de Filipinas,[15] with the first of twelve mandated electric tranvia (tram) lines operated by Meralco opening in Manila in 1905.

In 1936, the first standard-gauge railway was introduced to the Philippines in the form of two Climax locomotives for the Dahican Lumber Company (DALCO).

[20] Most of the improvements on the rail network were destroyed during Japanese invasion of the Philippines during the World War II.

It was dismantled and jeepneys became the city's primary form of transportation, plying the routes once served by the tram lines.

We need to go build more and then, we also need to invest in the other modes - bus, jeeps and everything else, hindi lang cars.Due to natural disasters and a lack of government support, railways began to decline in the post-war period.

Some services began to close in 1984, with the North Main Line being cut short to Paniqui, Tarlac.

The South Main Line was also closed due to natural disasters, including the eruption of Mayon Volcano in 1993 and Typhoons Milenyo and Reming in 2006.

This was also closed in October 2012 due to a derailment incident in Sariaya, Quezon and the ongoing disrepair of typhoon-damaged bridges.

[25] The monorail's feasibility was still being evaluated when the government asked the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to conduct a separate transport study.

[18] Prepared between 1971 and 1973, the JICA study proposed a series of circumferential and radial roads, an inner-city rapid transit system, a commuter railway, and an expressway with three branches.

It originally suggested a street-level railway, but its recommendations were revised by the newly formed Ministry of Transportation and Communications (now the DOTr).

For one, Freeman, Fox—and the World Bank—did not feel that the heavy rail transit advocated by the Japanese was suitable to Manila’s conditions.

[27] The report also says "These results are conclusive, and are unlikely to be changed by any circumstances or reasonable assumptions…it is clear that any other fully segregated public transport system, whether light rail or busway, would also be uneconomic.

As such systems would require the appropriation of most, if not all, of the available funds for all transport (including highways) in Metro Manila for the foreseeable future, and as there is not other rationale for their implementation, they have been rejected from further consideration.”[28] President Ferdinand Marcos created the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) in 1980.

The first lady Imelda Marcos, then governor of Metro Manila and minister of human settlements, became its first chairman.

[29] The second section, from Araneta Center-Cubao to Legarda, was opened exactly a year later, with the entire line being fully operational by October 2004.

Automated fare collection systems using magnetic stripe plastic tickets were installed; air-conditioned trains added; pedestrian walkways between Lines 1, 2, and the privately operated 3 were completed.

[32] In the early 2000s, the government worked to rehabilitate rail transportation in the country, including the Philippine National Railways, through various investments and projects.

[34] MRT Line 3, which deteriorated since 2014 due to poor maintenance,[35] underwent rehabilitation from 2019 to 2021, restoring it to its original high-grade state.

[36][37] As part of the government's recent investments in transportation in the country, numerous projects are ongoing to expand and rehabilitate the railways in Luzon.

It links the cities of Manila, Caloocan, Malabon, Makati, Taguig, Parañaque and Muntinlupa and the province of Laguna.

[56] The trains were planned to make seven trips a day, alternating between Tagkawayan, Sipocot, Naga City and Legazpi.

[58] However, services were again cut in April 2017 due to an absence of rolling stock, which was worsened by a succession of typhoons that damaged railroads in the Bicol region.

Many passengers who ride the systems also take various forms of road-based public transport, such as buses, to and from a station to reach their intended destination.

[69][70] A private consortium of seven companies, Metro Rail Transit Corporation is owner and operator of Line 3 under a Build–operate–transfer agreement with the Department of Transportation.

It was to be built under a public-private partnership program between the Makati city government and a private consortium, led by Philippine Infradev Holdings.

[89] 22.8 kilometers (14.2 mi) The Department of Science and Technology has commenced a project to develop a locally designed and manufactured Automated Guideway Transit System.