The Bicol Express Train Nostalgia Run

With a couple of old time buddies in tow, I boarded what may be a historic run of the Bicol Express marking the much awaited final test run of the Philippine National Railways final simulation of an actual commercial run, i.e. leaving Manila (Tutuban Station) at 6PM with a six-car configuration (3 Family Sleeper,  1 Executive Sleeper, a Reclining-Seat car, and a Dining car).

The family sleepers (FS) car is one where the passenger can lie down on a full-body bed-like seat with a curtain which can be drawn close to provide privacy. There are four of these "beds"- two on each side of the open-cabin, one above the other. The executive sleeper (ES) car is an enclosed 1.5 by 2 space where a small bed and a small table can be found. It's height is about 5 feet. And this is because another such cabin is located above it ala mezzanine. Each cabin has a door which can be locked to afford total privacy (unlike that in the family sleeper where only a curtain keeps away the prying eyes. Both the FS and the ES have centralized air-conditioning. The reclining-seat car (RS) is 60-seat capacity air-conditoned car fitted with a single TV set at one end of the car. 

The dining car (DC) is a semi-full service dining facility, i.e. with waiter but no kitchen (at the moment) which can seat 50 people at any one time. During the test run, pre-packed meals were served. The coffee, however, was bottomless.  

Although some were allowed to drink, all they were allowed were a couple of bottles of wine because as a policy, the PNR will not allow drinking of hard liquor in the dining car. Smoking was also be prohibited.

The family sleeper car is big enough for four adults. Children may be able to share one bunk bed. Going up the elevated bunk-bed though was a little challenge (puzzle). For a while, I and my buddies couldn't figure out how one can go up the upper bunk. When we looked around, we saw this strange looking metal bar which we thought was something that could assist in the climbing up the upper level bunk: 

After a short discussion, we finally were able to figure out what that piece of metal was and how it can actually be used to assist the passenger go up to the upper bunk, i.e. it turned out that it was folding ladder.

As to passenger convenience relating to restroom/toilet amenities, the

donated Japanese cars were also a little puzzling owing to the fact that the signages, which were all in Japanese characters, have not yet been taken out or at least translated to either English or Pilipino. One passenger commented that the train must have run out of tap water since she could not get anything no matter how she turned the knob in either direction. When I went to check it out, it turned out that the knob was to be turned to shift from cold to hot. You get the water to flow by just putting your hands below the nozzle (automatic pala!)

As to the run itself, we ran into some problems (pun intented). First, there was this group of guests (invited by one of the board directors) who somehow managed to get themselves lost in the station of origin (Tutuban) and missed the boarding time. So we had to make an unscheduled stop in one of the smaller stations after running just some 20 minutes to wait for them to catch up. Then we had to run slow in an area in Calamba where apparently the informal settlers have again made their homes just less than a meter from the tracks (they were relocated earlier but have returned again). About midway in the trip, the weather started to affect out trip. The hard rain caused by a typhoon and a low-pressure area made the rail so slippery that the locomotive had to run slower than a man walking. In the railroad lingo, it's referred to as "Paso Hombre."

All these factors combined to put off our targeted travel time from Manila to Naga of 10 hours to more than 13 hours. 

We arrived on a rainy early morning in Naga City where the station manager treated everyone to hot coffee and "Tapsilog."

We stayed in Naga for lunch and had a few meetings (one with a Mayor of a nearby city). The other guests went to the city itself and had lunch and did some "pasalubong" shopping.

At around 6PM we again boarded the train for the return trip to Manila. This time the trip was a bit shorter and just an hour beyond the target of 10 hours. We arrived in Alabang station at about 5:30AM where I got-off since I saw no need to go all the way to Tutuban in Manila because Manila was on a holiday as it was celebrating its Araw ng Maynila.

The trip did bring back some memories of the famed Bicol Express trip which I used to take back in the 60s and 70s especially during semestral breaks.

It's just sad to note though that most of the train stations have been neglected through the years and had fallen into disrepair. In some instances, squatters have already taken them over.  To be sure, the trip was not perfect and may have in fact missed a lot of the expected results. Definitely,

it is going to be a tough challenge to the current PNR management, but if the trip was anything that indicates the resolve of Jun Ragragio, the current General Manager, the PNR is on the right track and the Bicolanos romance with the iron horse and the "Ferrocaril" will be back sooner than later.