It’s Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan’s 131st founding anniversary
EXACTLY 131 years ago on November 24 this year, the first-ever commuter train rolled out from Manila to Dagupan with the launching of the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan that made travel to both cities easy and comfortable for people of provinces of Pangasinan and Rizal closer.
Built by the British with Filipino labor, it was a project of the colonial government that owed allegiance to the Spanish crown.
When the Americans took their turn to colonize the Philippines following the Battle at Manila Bay, FdMD became the Manila Rail Road (MRR) that was later transformed into a Philippine National Railways when the country was finally freed from its colonizers.
FdMD fortified the position of Dagupan as the melting pot of Pangasinan. With people coming from various towns, riding on horse-drawn calesas only to board a train to Manila, Dagupan later became the center of trade and commerce, and later education in the province as well as in the Ilocos Region.
It was still PNR when the railroad bridge somewhere in Bautista town was washed out by a big flood that occurred in the late 1970s, finally ending railroad travel from Manila to Dagupan and even extended up to Rosario and San Fernando, La Union.
With the trains gone, only the PNR train stations in Dagupan remained but were all left in the state of deterioration. Some of the rails from Manila to the north, including their wooden footings were already cannibalized. The PNR buildings in Dagupan now all lay in waste but it was not too late to save some of them to become a memento of future generations.
On November 24, 2023, the 131st anniversary of FdMD was observed with a simple celebration at the PNR Heritage Site spearheaded by the Dagupan City Heritage Commission and the city’s Jayceeken with Acting Mayor Brian Kua as guest of honor and speaker.
The celebration was attended by Mayombo Barangay Captain Arsenio Curameng, City Tourism Officer Karlos Reyna, Liga ng mga Barangay president Lino Fernandez, also Hermano Mayor of the Dagupan City fiesta, and a host of civic leaders and conservationists.
The City Information Office said the old PNR station in Dagupan City is one for 21 heritage sites in Dagupan declared by Ordinance No. 2125-2028 authored by Councilor Jeslito Seen in line with the Provisions of the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009. (Leonardo Micua)
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