Tranvia
The tranvía was a defunct streetcar system that served Manila and its surrounding cities during the early years of the 20th century.
History
Prior to the tranvia, modes of street transportation in Manila are mostly horse-drawn, consisting of the calesa, the lighter , and the fancy caruaje. The tranvia served as the first railway transport to run in the Philippines, as in its earliest years the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan are in its planning stages. The tranvia was renowned as "state-of-the-art" in East Asia, and had provided efficient transport to the residents of Manila.Compañia de los Tranvías de Filipinas
Plans for a tramway system came from the Formularios para la reducion de los anteproyectos de ferrocarriles, the same decree in 1875 that sparked the planning for the Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan. This was prepared by the Administracion de Obras Publicas to set construction conditions for potential railroad builders, from earlier railway regulations which utilizes animal power.In 1882, a tramway company venture was founded by Jacobo Zóbel y Zangroniz, engineer Luciano M. Bremon, and banker Adolfo Bayo in line with Manila's growing populace, and thus construction for the tramway commenced. The first constructed tranvia line connected Manila to Malabon in 1884 and at the same time, this was opened to the public. The line proved to be a commercial success—both by estimation and usage—with a greater profit than wheeled traffic. The tramway provided a cheap, safe, and convenient means of transport within the city until the ouster of the Spanish regime by the US when tram services dwindled in maintenance and capacity.
Manila Electric, Rail, and Light Company
The United States established its governance in the Philippines in 1901. In the following year, a commission that called for franchise bids in operating a streetcar system alongside management of electricity was passed by five Americans and three Filipinos on October 20, 1902, known as Act No. 484. When Charles M. Swift won the bid for the Manila Electric Company franchise on March 24, 1903, he commissioned J. J. White for services in construction and engineering an electric tramway, and sometime in the following year, the Manila Electric Company acquired the Compañia de los Tranvías de Filipinas and the La Electricista.In 1913, under Swift's other franchise of "Manila Suburban Railway", a extension line that ran from Paco to Fort Mckinley and Pasig began operation. This franchise merged with the Manila Electric, Rail, and Light Company in 1919, when it was then shortened to the familiar branding, Meralco. The tramway was then be powered by a steam power plant in Isla Provisora.
On April 5, 1905, the tranvia was inaugurated. Although the terminology "streetcar" was favored by the American operators, locals still referred to the light railway as "tranvia".
After the events of World War II and the Battle of Manila, the tranvia was left to a state of beyond economical repair. The tracks has since been dismantled, the remaining fleet scrapped, and the transport system within the metro shifted to automobile dependence and jeepneys. Meralco has since been the sole electricity provider for Metro Manila and nearby provinces up to this date.
Rolling stock
Throughout its existence, the tranvia utilized trams that differed mainly on propulsion. Under Spanish ownership, the tramway was noted for its horse-drawn coaches, and under American rule, Meralco replaced the need for animal power by electrifying the tramways. All rolling stock ran on standard gauge light rail.Steam-powered trams
Steam-powered trams ran exclusively through the Malabon Line. The first fleet in the whole tranvia system and by propulsion consisted of four German-made light rail locomotives and eight passenger coaches.Horse-drawn carriages
Towards the end of the 19th century, Manila saw wheeled traffic powered by horses. As the popular power for land-based transport at that time, the secretary wrote that the Spanish tramway company was plagued with eccentric problems, mostly concerning the horses that pull the light rail coaches. Each tram can carry 12 seated and 8 standing passengers, resembling an omnibus.Electrified trams
American ownership of the tramway under Meralco paved way for electrification, as the company also specializes on electricity distribution. The company designs and produces its own rolling stock in its workshops, and the maximum fleet of electricity-powered streetcars reached a total of 170 in 1924. The streetcars utilize an overhead electrification system with a maximum of 500 volts.Meralco also tinkered with trackless trolley buses, which subsequently replaced the streetcars plying Calle Santa Mesa between Rotonda and the San Juan Bridge.
Operations
The tramway system began construction in 1885 as an enterprise of Don Jacobo Zobel, the Compañia de los Tranvías de Filipinas. The Malabon Line was first to be accomplished in 1888, utilizing eight passenger coaches and four German-manufactured steam locomotives. Full operations opened in 1889 with the addition of lines serving Intramuros, Malate, Sampaloc, and Malacañan within Manila. Unlike the Malabon Line, the trams that serviced within Manila are pulled by horses.The tramway was an hourly service in each direction, owing to popular demand. At the Malabon Line, the earliest services begin 5:30 a.m. and end at 7:30 p.m. from Tondo; trips from Malabon were from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., a schedule met every hour at mornings, and every half-hour beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon.
As the aftermath of the Filipino uprising and the American conquest, the tranvia was left in a poor state; in 1902, only ten horse-drawn cars service for a day. Thus, ownership was passed under the Manila Electric, Rail, and Light Authority as Charles Swift won the bid for the streetcar operation. By the end of the year 1905, the system was inaugurated under Meralco's handling, and had around of light rail track. The streetcar system at that time connected Binondo, Escolta, San Nicolas, Tondo, Caloocan, Malabon, Quiapo, Sampaloc, Santa Mesa, San Miguel, and other areas within Metro Manila. Under the American ownership, the light railroad workers are mostly Filipino.
The tramway system gained line extensions, such as a line that runs from Santa Ana to Pasig, adding of railway length. Larger streetcars of double-wheel trucks and closed sides are added to the fleet, complementing the demand. In 1920, a five-year reconstruction program was undertaken for the 15-year old tramway, where newer streetcars are designed and manufactured by the company workshops; by 1924, the fleet consists of around 170 cars.
Complementing Meralco's transportation businesses, autobuses are added in services as a streetcar system expansion was deemed "not economically viable". In 1927, 20 autobuses were manufactured. When World War II began in 1941, the streetcar fleet was reduced from 170 to 109 as the bus fleet was expanded to 190. The war was the major setback for Meralco for its transportation business, causing poor maintenance alongside the 1943 floods, including the Battle of Manila which saw the extensive destruction of the city of Manila and consequently, the streetcar system.
Incidents
The horse-drawn coaches and the signalling often results to confusion, mostly from wrong handling of the animals, the tram failing to stop, or that of the whistle used by the Guardia Sibil tends to be taken as a signal which are replaced with trumpets.Despite the tranvia's notable patronage, operations had been marred with issues such as occasional strikes by Meralco streetcar workers. A streetcar bombing incident once occurred while a strike was ongoing.