MALOLOS CITY:  Despite the modern technologies in railway engineering, the construction of the 32.2-kilometer Chinese-funded NorthRail project could become a simple “steel caterpillar,” or turning into something like the 195.4-kilometer “colonial iron horse,” built by Spaniards 114 years ago.

On June 25, 1875, King Alfonso XII of Spain promulgated a royal decree that directed the Office of the Inspector of Public Works of the Philippines to submit a general plan for a railroad in Luzon.