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The Mindanao Railway, previously known as the Trans-Mindanao High Speed Railway, is a proposed railway system in Mindanao, the southernmost major island of the Philippines. Originally proposed in 1936 as part of Manuel L. Quezon's efforts to strengthen the presence of Commonwealth government in Mindanao against the rising influence of Imperial Japan before World War II, the line was shelved. Other proposals and studies were made in the 1950s, 1990s, and the 2000s, but never materialized. The current line began development in 2018; however, construction has yet to start. It will be initially built as a single-track standard gauge system to be operated by diesel fuel rolling stock, but will have provisions for upgrading to double-track and electrification through overhead lines.
The system will be constructed as a network long in its present form, totalling of track, with the centerpiece being a circumferential mainline that connects some of the major cities of the island. An east–west radial mainline will also be built to the Zamboanga Peninsula, and a number of other radial lines will serve as . As with other projects of the Philippine National Railways, the Mindanao Railway will be constructed in phases covering segments of various lengths.
The first phase, the Tagum–Digos segment of the circumferential mainline, will be the first section to be constructed. This segment was initially set to be partially opened by 2022, with the rest of its 17 segments being completed by the 2030s , but the entire project has been beset by delays with funding and construction. An official development assistance (ODA) loan from China was planned for funding most of the project; however, the Philippine government backed out of pursuing it in 2023. While the project is still stalled, the government is starting again on the project in 2024. A fresh feasibility study was conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Another proposal is the third phase, or the Northern Mindanao Railway, a 54.8-kilometer high-capacity line connecting Cagayan de Oro, connecting the municipalities of Laguindingan and Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, which is under study from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center.
Not long after, a series of narrow-gauge railroads were opened by the American government in Mindanao. These short lines were constructed to transport supplies and United States Army personnel. A line was opened in Camp Keithley in what is now Marawi where trains carried war materiel on . A gauge short line was also opened in Jolo, Sulu.
The best-documented system built by the government was the single-track line of the Davao Penal Colony in Davao del Norte. The prison was established in 1932 by the American government. It was converted into a facility for American POWs after its occupation by Imperial Japanese Army forces in 1942. Davao Penal Colony survivor Raymond C. Heimbuch wrote in his book that the line suffered from poor condition of the rolling stock and lack of maintenance of the tracks. There were 40 flatcars and a sole diesel locomotive, which replaced a steam locomotive whose tender survived after the war. The diesel locomotive would pair with 5 or 6 flatcars that carried prisoners, sacks of rice, or forestry products. The train took a 45-minute trip per way. According to an interview with POW survivor Hayes Bolitho in 2009, the line is estimated to be long. He also commented that prisoners were forced to push the train in case of rain or when ascending steep grades due to the poor conditions of the tracks. A few years after the war, a two-car train welcomed the party of then-president Elpidio Quirino during his visit to the area.
At the same time, local plantations and lumber mills also built their own systems during the 1920s and the 1930s, typically serving freight trains from the production facilities to a port. At Port Lamon, Surigao del Norte, trains carried timber from the jungle and sawmill to the pier. One Class B Shay locomotive was used by the Kolambugan Lumber and Development Company of Lanao del Norte during the 1920s and the 1930s. In Malabang, Lanao del Sur, a local company also ran freight trains through the town during the 1930s. In Misamis Oriental, the Anakan Lumber Company operated Heisler locomotives in the town of Gingoog during the 1920s and 1930s.
These short lines were either destroyed during World War II or dismantled (the Davao Penal Colony line was dismantled due to its condition sometime after President Quirino's visit). The metal used was then sold to the China black market due to the high market value of iron there. Despite closures of local freight railroads due to the rise of truck traffic, one line was established in the Davao Region by the Tagum Agricultural Development Company (TADECO). It started operations in 1950 and had two diesel locomotives that hauled abacá and Cavendish banana produce. The locomotives were decommissioned and stored in 2010.
Then-president Manuel L. Quezon proposed the construction of an electrified railroad between Cagayan de Oro (then known as Misamis) and Davao City passing through the province of Bukidnon. It would have been electrified by overhead lines powered by the Maria Cristina Falls' hydroelectric power plant (now the Agus VI Hydroeletric Plant). This proposal was made in January 1936, and was taken note by Quezon's adviser Francis Burton Harrison. Some track bed construction began the same year, but the project was left incomplete without a single track placed when construction was halted in 1940. (Also available at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA).
After the war, Manila Railroad General Manager and later-Senator Prospero Sanidad proposed a standard-gauge railway in 1952 with consideration for a future electrified network. A network long was proposed for construction with the assistance of American firm De Leuw, Cather and Company.
The following lines were proposed, each at least long:
According to this older plan, Kibawe (then known as Kibawa) and Davao City were the main hubs for the network. Although never realized, it influenced the right-of-way of the present Mindanao Railway proposal, particularly on the circumferential main line.
However, when the law enabling the PNR was amended by Presidential Decree 741 in July 1975, reference to a railway in Mindanao was omitted.
On June 28, 1999, Estrada signed Administrative Order 74, series of 1999 which allocated ₱10 million to the Mindanao Rail System Task Force to, as stated in the order, "act as the clearing house for policy and operational issues affecting the implementation of the MRS Project".
However, on February 11, 2002—after Estrada's impeachment the year before—President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Executive Order 72, series 2002, which abolished the MRS Task Force. Later, however, Arroyo replaced the task force with another organization.
On May 25, 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Executive Order 536 which created the Cebu Railway Project Office (CRPO) and the Mindanao Railway Project Office (MRPO) under the control of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC). Both were charged formulating plans for, identifying funding mechanisms for, and developing railways in Metro Cebu and Mindanao, respectively.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the National Economic and Development Authority conducted studies for the construction of a rail system in the island of Mindanao along with its partners starting in 2015. The proposal in 2015 resembled the 1952 right-of-way. The government planned to build the railway in six phases, with the first running from Iligan to Gingoog. A pre-proposal conference was conducted in 2015, but the railway was not included in the Public-Private Partnership program.
/ref> In 2018, the project, initially called the Trans-Mindanao High Speed Railway, was approved and received initial funding from Congress. The rest of the funding would have come from an official development assistance (ODA) loan from China. However, construction was delayed after several eminent domain issues, specifically after residents of a high-end gated community near Davao City has requested the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to realign the railway line to avoid hitting an 18-hole golf course.
The railway's route was modified into a system centered around a circular mainline. However, it was later reverted into the old right-of-way, but now incorporates the extensions and branch lines featured in the 2019 proposal. In its current state, the project has 18 segments to be divided into 10 phases.
On March 24, 2021, the DOTr Undersecretary for Project Implementation in Mindanao, Eymard Eje, Tagum mayor Allan Rellon, and Carmen mayor Virginia Perandos signed a deed of absolute sale for land to be used for the construction of the Tagumpay Train Village, a resettlement area for families affected by the project. As of April 2021, land acquisition from Panabo to Carmen was almost complete. On April 19, 2021, the city government of Panabo issued an ordinance prohibiting any unrelated construction on the right-of-way of the Mindanao Railway.
The Project Management Consultant Contract for the Tagum–Davao–Digos segment of the project was signed on October 20, 2021. It was also announced that the final length of the system would be .
In July 2022, the project funding was withdrawn after the Chinese government failed to act on the funding requests by the Duterte administration, including the Subic–Clark Railway (later Subic–Clark–Manila–Batangas Railway under a new initiative) and PNR South Long Haul projects. A month later, on August 11, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian and Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista held formal talks ending in an agreement to restart negotiations for the three railway projects.
On September 30, 2022, the DOTr said that the project could be finished by 2028 if the loan for the project was finalized by 2023. However, such plans between the governments of the Philippines and China never progressed and materialized, and on October 25, 2023, the Philippine government announced that it officially withdrew its request for Chinese ODA funding.
After China withdrew from funding the project in 2024, the government decided to re-study the first phase of the project with the inclusion of freight services as part of its adjustments to the DOTr, and at the same time, the transportation department revamped the feasibility study of the project to use environmentally friendly or electric trains. At the same time, JICA announced that the funding decision for the project is not ready yet as it awaits the completion of a feasibility study with the revised project.
In July of that year, 3 foreign firms expressed interest interest in pursuing the project. Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Leo Tereso Magno said that there were 2 Korean and 1 Japanese firms their willingness to design and build the said project. In November, Vice President Sara Duterte lamented the delay of the construction of the railway and made the pronouncement in a press conference in Butuan when asked that regarding the development, particularly its rumored cancellation. The pre-construction activities are still ongoing.
As of May 2025, there has yet to be any advancements, and DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon stated: “Yes, these projects remain in the priority list of the President and in the priority list of the DOTr. However, it is difficult to say if we don’t have the funding yet. We cannot program a timeline for them,”. Nonetheless, the project is currently undergoing a revised feasibility study conducted by the ADB, via the Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility. According to Dizon, "We will try our best to look for funds for the Mindanao Railway,".
Based on the project description, the railway project will include passenger railway stations, maintenance depots, operations control centers, connectivity to Languindingan Airport, connectivity to seaports, and transit-oriented developments (TOD). The railway will be designed to be capable of handling freight cargo at cargo terminals in the future.
The start of construction was delayed in May 2022 as the DOTr did not receive the shortlist of the design-and-build contractors from the Chinese government.
| Tagum | |
| Carmen, Davao del Norte | |
| Panabo | |
| Davao City | |
| Davao City | |
| Davao City | |
| Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur | |
| Digos |
| Hagonoy, Davao del Sur | |
| Padada | |
| Sulop | |
| Malalag | |
| Malungon | |
| Alabel, Sarangani | |
| General Santos City | |
| Polomolok | |
| Tupi, South Cotabato | |
| Tampakan | |
| Koronadal |
| Laguindingan | |
| Alubijid | |
| El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental | |
| Opol | |
| Cagayan de Oro | |
| Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental | |
| Villanueva, Misamis Oriental |
| Mawab | |
| Nabunturan | |
| Montevista | |
| Monkayo | |
| Trento, Agusan del Sur | |
| Bunawan | |
| Rosario, Agusan del Sur | |
| San Francisco, Agusan del Sur | |
| Prosperidad | |
| Bayugan | |
| Sibagat | |
| Butuan |
The total length of the Koronadal–Cagayan de Oro and Davao City–Bukidnon segments, as well as future extensions on the line beyond Phase 10 such as the double-tracking of the Tagum–Digos segment, amounts to .
The maximum speed of trains on the line is and the average speed is . Commuter trains will also have a headway of 13 minutes during partial operations for Phase 1. Lastly, the project suggests the use of the European Train Control System for its signalling and train control systems with at least Level 1 to be installed on the line.
A section of Phase 1 in Davao City shall also be connected to the Davao People Mover by a connecting bus service.
If the electrification and double-tracking plans were adopted, the current maximum speed for the diesel line would be raised to , which is comparable to PNR's Luzon System's maximum speed and would count as higher-speed rail. The 2016 JICA study suggests the use of overhead catenaries on or before 2045.
Despite the change in the project title, there are plans for a genuine high-speed rail network in the region, and the proposed infrastructure of the Mindanao Railway was planned with future high-speed rail development in mind along as with all the proposed railways for PNR. The two shortlisted Chinese proponents also stated interest in designing a high-speed line that will be capable of running speeds of up to once the present project achieves successful operations.
An earlier order also cited the purchase of rolling stock for the intercity section. This order includes 33 DMUs cars for the passenger service, which include six 5-car units and three spare cars for passenger trains, and 4 diesel-electric locomotives with 15 freight cars. The whereabouts of this order is yet to be determined.
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