MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan — A historical marker was erected at the 134-year-old infrastructure that was once the train station of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) in this city.

The installation of the historical marker is part of the SINEliksik project of the Provincial History, Arts, Culture and Tourism Office (PHACTO), a synergy strategy in educating and providing information of the local history of Bulacan.

According to PHACTO Head May Arlene Torres, one of the most notable historical records of this train station is the arrival of Dr. Jose P. Rizal in 1892, to campaign for the establishment of the La Liga Filipina.

The aim was to unite all Filipinos from various parts of the country to push for the unity, defend every Filipino against injustice, provide access to free education to everyone, and strengthen the agricultural sector and trading.

The visit of Rizal was also a chance for him to meet with the women of Malolos, wherein he wrote about it when he was in London to bolster their courage to acquire education when women had no rights to express themselves.

The said train station is also the place where the delegates of the Malolos Congress conducted a session at the Barasoain Church from 1898 to 1899. In one of the sessions, the Proclamation of Independence was ratified and laid the groundwork for the creation of the Philippine Constitution.

It was in 1991 that the operation of the PNR came to a halt, closing also the train station in the process.

After three decades, North-South Commuter Railway deputy project manager Jojo Giron said that the Department of Transportation is set to preserve the train station with the aid of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The preservation is in the process with a monthly baseline monitoring conducted to determine if there any damages in the train station. This will be followed by the restoration wherein the local government of Malolos will turn the facility in to a museum through adaptive reuse process.