Summary - TST 37

TRANSPORTES, SERVICIOS Y TELECOMUNICACIONES


TST 37

Dídac CUBEIRO

Conectando la ciudad al mar: cambios en Manila con la llegada del tranvía (1880-1898)

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Key Words: urban transport, tramways, urbanization, Manila.


[ Abstract ]

This article analyzes the organization of the modern network of trams in the city of Manila, and the connections of the railway with the port, that were constructed at the end of the 19th century to facilitate Philippine exports to international markets. It highlights continuity between Spanish projects and those adopted the US Administration, which revived the projects of the Dirección General de Obras Públicas, and in many cases, continued building along the original network layout. The Spanish Administration planned a tram line to cover the route between the railway line that linked Manila with Dagupán and the docks of the port of Manila. In 1884 the project was contracted to provide a tram system to the city of Manila, operated by the Compañía de Tranvías de Filipinas. After the US occupation of the Philippines at the beginning of the 20th century, the concession was transferred to the Manila Electric and Railway Company (MERALCO), which took over the operation of the tram and the power plants that supplied electricity to the city. Today Meralco remains one of the main electricity supplier companies of the archipelago.