A stunning archipelago of over 7,000 sub-tropical islands, the Philippines do not feature on your average traveller’s itinerary! This country has a long and infamous history.

However it’s also got a lot of very beautiful scenery and a wonderful laid back atmosphere and people who take the laid back attitude of the Spanish and add some extra heart to it.

There isn’t that much of a rail network in the Phillippines in fact train travel is limited to one line running from Manila to Naga! but if you’re in Asia on a rail tour then the Phillipines is easily accessable from Japan, China and other SE Asian countries.

There is actually a fair amount of history with railways in the Philippines. There is a mailling list and website about trains there run by an Aussie.

Within Manila you can find several light railways and this link (PDF) has a thorough history of the Manila Metro.

Overall for the serious train buff in Asia the Phillippines is worth a visit to see some the wonderful sights and meet the people, but don’t expect to find that many trains!