IN his third State of the Nation Address on July 22, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippines was 'in the midst of a railway renaissance,' adding that several major rail projects under his administration's watch were making progress. He pledged to resolve right-of-way issues in order that these projects' implementation would not be impeded.

The President's remarks mirror those that Jorjette Aquino, Transportation assistant secretary for railways, made at a railway conference in Pasay City in late June. She told rail executives and experts at that gathering that the country was about to enter a 'railway renaissance' once a network of railways was completed and unified to boost the country's economy and regional cooperation.