Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), the joint venture between Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., has so far invested P8.7 billon to rehabilitate the existing LRT Line 1.
With 35 years of daily operations, multiple sections of LRT-1 have suffered from cracked concrete and exposed or damaged rebars. River bridges have also deteriorated.
Concrete repairs, sandblasting to remove corrosion, repainting, installation of new collision dampers to protect bridges from ship collision were done to complete the structural defect restoration works.
LRMC, which took over LRT 1 in September 2015, is bent on further improving the riding experience of its passengers.
LRT-1 serves around 500,000 passengers daily. It has increased trips per day to 520 from 478 trips in 2016.
LRMC also eyeing to complete the new signaling system for the existing rail line by November 2020.
With the new signaling system, train service schedule will improve. It will also help better the passenger service by ensuring that trains arrive regularly and on-time.
“The new signaling system is what will also give us a further reduced headway of 2.5 minutes in the existing LRT-1 line and soon, the first phase of the Cavite Extension. We have automated many systems and we will continue to invest and innovate to make processes more efficient and modern,” said Juan Alfonso, LRMC president and CEO.
