Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

Transportation in the Philippines

Railways

narrow gauge (1.067-m), 492 km (an additional 405 km are not in operation) (2001)

(on Luzon, Philippine National Railways Main Line South to Bicol Region)

Highways:
total: 199,950 km
paved: 39,590 km
unpaved: 160,360 km (1998 est.)

Waterways: 3,219 km; limited to shallow-draft (less than 1.5 m) vessels

Pipelines: petroleum products 357 km

Ports and harbors: Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Guimaras Island, Iligan, Iloilo, Jolo, Legaspi, Manila, Masao, Puerto Princesa, San Fernando, Subic Bay, Zamboanga,Matnog, Allen, Ormoc, Dalahican

Merchant marine:
total: 480 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,973,024 GRT/9,025,087 DWT
ships by type: bulk 159, cargo 122, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 9, container 7, liquified gas 13, livestock carrier 9, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 47, refrigerated cargo 20, roll-on/roll-off 19, short-sea passenger 32, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 20 (1999 est.)
note: a flag of convenience registry; Japan owns 19 ships, Hong Kong 5, Cyprus 1, Denmark 1, Greece 1, Netherlands 1, Singapore 1, and UK 1 (1998 est.)

Airports: 266 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 76
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 26
914 to 1,523 m: 31
under 914 m: 10 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 190
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 66
under 914 m: 121 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1999 est.)

See also : Philippines

History

1940

Vehicles

During this period, there were 50,000 automobiles in the region. The carabao was used as a primary transportation source.

Railways

There were 1,400 km of narrow-gauge track, owned by either the Maníla Railway Company (based on Luzon) or the Philippine Railway Company (an American company based on Panay and Cebu). 1,130 km of these tracks were on Luzon, with about 50% of this amount located in the central plain. In addition, there were some 400 km of privately-owned track in the central plain of Luzon. All of this, with the exception of a stretch above Manila, was single-track.

Roads

There were 22,960 km of highway in the Philippine archipelago. More than half of these roads were in central and southern Luzon and three major highways of this island were, and probably still are, Routes 1, 3, and 5. These routes were two-lane roads with concrete or asphalt surfacing. Each of these 3 roads enters the capital, Manila, and their access roads linked the various parts of the island.