Active There are two operable sections of the South Main Line, the
Metro Commuter Line, the Inter-Provincial Commuter line and the
Bicol Commuter service. The Metro Commuter Line operates two services, the Metro South Commuter and the
Shuttle Service. • The
Bicol Commuter is a
local train service in the
Bicol Region, particularly in the province of
Camarines Sur. The service runs between and via . Previously operating between Sipocot and Naga, by December 27, 2023, the Naga–Legazpi route reopened. • The
Inter-Provincial Commuter is a commuter and
regional rail service from
San Pablo to
Calamba, Laguna and San Pablo to
Lucena,
Quezon. The service made its first trial run on February 14, 2022,
Defunct In 2006, regular intercity operations on the South Main Line were indefinitely suspended. Issues such as rail
metal theft and natural disasters have hampered the line's intercity service from operating regularly ever since. Illegal settlers also live close to the rails in Metro Manila and Laguna sections of the line. In Camarines Sur, liquefaction of the track's embankment caused a section of the line in
Sipocot to sink. This forced the inaugural service of the new
Bicol Express in 2011 to slow down to a near stop while passing through the area. On September 21, 2019, a KiHa 59 and a rerailment train consisting of a newly-repainted
PNR 900 class locomotive and a CMC coach conducted a test run from Tutuban to Naga.
Metro South Commuter The regular
Metro South Commuter serves the
Greater Manila Area from Tutuban to in Muntinlupa, in
Cabuyao,
Calamba, or in
Los Baños. There were commuter services leading to from 1976 to 1986, which was superseded by the present service to IRRI. There were also named services to Guadalupe station in
Mandaluyong and
Carmona station in
Carmona,
Cavite. These were named after indigenous flora. The present Metro South Commuter line was closed to give way for the construction of the
North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR). The line's current trainsets are set to be transferred to operating services in Southern Luzon, the Inter-Provincial Commuter and the Bicol Commuter Lines, which allows the lines to increase trips and serve more passengers. The present South Commuter Line will also be rebuilt and it will serve as an alternate transport mode to the NSCR, as well as for future freight services. • The
Shuttle Service currently operates between on the South Main Line to on the North Main Line.
Bicol Express The
Bicol Express was the primary service on the South Main Line. The service started operations between Manila and Aloneros station in
Guinayangan,
Quezon by 1919 along with the
Lucena Express. A separate train between Pamplona and Tabaco, and between Port Ragay and Legazpi was opened by 1933. The Tabaco branch line during this era was closed in 1937 and instead, they linked these three sections into a single line. This formed the backbone of the South Main Line and was subsequently opened in 1938. This service was short lived and ended during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in 1942. During this era, the Japanese government focused on rebuilding the North Main Line instead and extended it to
Sudipen on the border between
Ilocos Sur and
La Union, and the south line's rehabilitation was cut to
San Pablo, Laguna. After the line's post-war rehabilitation, another service was opened. The service immediately became popular with the public and more services were introduced on August 16, 1954. There were two services of this type: the daytime
Bicol Express and the
Night Express which was the night train counterpart. The
Bicol Express leaving Manila was numbered 511 and its night counterpart leaving Legazpi was numbered 513. The
Bicol Express leaving Legazpi was numbered 512 and the
Night Express leaving Manila was numbered 514. The trains only stopped at six stations between Tutuban and Legazpi:
Paco,
Lucena,
Tagkawayan,
Sipocot,
Naga and
Ligao. Journey times lasted 13 hours between the two termini. Services were expanded until the 1970s. By 1998,
Bicol Express was the only intercity service on the South Main Line. More stations were also added to the line. It was renumbered as Train T-611 for the southbound (MA-NG) and Train T-612 for the northbound (NG-MA). Another
Bicol Express train was serviced by the second version of the General Manager's train, a trainset based on modified CMC-300 series DMUs already operating in PNR service. This was numbered T-577. Since then, the service was discontinued by 2006 after natural disasters inflicted serious damage to the tracks and bridges. Efforts to revive the service were unsuccessful. Since 2014, operations to the
Bicol Region have been suspended. This is primarily because of typhoon damage to bridges. The PNR hoped to reopen the Bicol Express Service by about September 2014. Due to the damages brought by the
Typhoon Rammasun (locally named Glenda), PNR announced that the Bicol Express' resumption of services would be further delayed until October and November 2014. Since then, the resumption of service has been repeatedly announced and then cancelled, most recently in late 2016. This was mostly because of an inadequacy of train coaches, the remoteness of the areas covered by the rail tracks, and the necessity of more extensive railway repairs, which has rendered the railways towards Tutuban and back impassable. The return of train services to Bicol is planned with the construction of the
South Long Haul project.
Lucena Express The Lucena Express was first opened in 1916 with a service between Malvar, Batangas and Aloneros in Guinayangan, Quezon. Later, the service was opened between Manila and Lucena. This train stopped at Blumentritt (San Lazaro), Santa Mesa, Paco, San Pedro, Biñan, Santa Rosa, Calamba, Los Baños, College, Masaya, San Pablo, Tiaong, Taguan, Candelaria, Lutucan and Sariaya stations. It was discontinued in 1942 during the Japanese occupation and was later integrated with the
Bicol Express after the war.
Mayon Limited The older
Mayon Express Limited service was hauled by the newly-acquired MCBP class DMUs starting in 1973. In March 2012, the
Mayon Limited was resurrected and ran between Tutuban and Ligao. The train ran as Mayon DeLuxe on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Tutuban as train T-713 with three air-conditioned carriages with reclining seats. The train returned on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday as train T-714 from Ligao. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays the train ran as Ordinary train (T-815) with non-reclining seats and cooling by fan. The departures for train T-816 were scheduled every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The train did not run on Saturdays. The trains meet at Gumaca. Two types of DMUs were used for the service. The ordinary
Mayon Limited services used
KiHa 52 DMUs. Meanwhile the
Mayon Limited Deluxe used the
KiHa 59 series DMUs, still with its original
Kogane livery. As of September 2013, all operations to the
Bicol Region, including the Mayon Limited, have been suspended.
Manila Limited The
Manila Limited was a train service between
Manila and
Iriga. One train each left from these two termini. Train 517 left Manila by 3 pm and arrived in Iriga by 4:15 am. Train 518 left Iriga by 2:50 pm and arrived in Manila by 2:35 am. It ended in 2006 when all regular intercity services were terminated.
Prestige Express The
Prestige Express, also nicknamed the
VIP Train from some rail enthusiasts of the time, was a
limited express service from 1974 to 1981. It ran the full length of the South Main Line, but only stopped at only five stations in between. In Manila, it only stopped at the historic
Paco station. Afterwards, it stopped at
Lucena in
Quezon,
Naga in
Camarines Sur, and in
Daraga and
Ligao in
Albay. Like all services on the South Main Line, there were more stations added. The service was replaced by the shorter
Peñafrancia Express in 1981 that ended at Naga. The service used JMC-319
Luster, later MC-6366
Nikkō. It was a JMC class diesel multiple unit built by
Tokyu Car Company in 1955 and refurbished in 1973 with a
streamlined cab inspired by the likes of the
0 Series Shinkansen.
Peñafrancia Express The PNR inaugurated the
Peñafrancia Express between Manila and Naga City in 1981. It became PNR's premium intercity service and also had airline-style features such as pre-recorded background music, snacks, caterers, and stewardesses. Unlike the preceding
Prestige Express, it did not have specialized rolling stock. It was primarily a choice between the acquired refurbished
Nikko train acquired from the previous
Prestige service, and later the
900 class locomotive and hauled ICF baggage cars and sleeper coaches built in Madras (now
Chennai), India. ==Rolling stock==