LRT-2 east extension project breaks ground

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday broke ground on the Light Rail Transit (LRT)-2 East extension project targeted for completion by August next year, which will extend the rail system by two stations to Antipolo.

The project involves the construction of a 4- kilometer (km) extension of the existing LRT-2 system from Santolan in Pasig to Masinag in Antipolo.

Two new stations will be built: the Emerald station, which will be located in front of Robinsons Metro East and Sta. Lucia in Cainta; and the Masinag station, which will be located before the Masinag Junction in Antipolo City.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) said yesterday that the project will reduce travel time to 40 minutes from Masinago to Claro M. Recto in Manila from the current average of three hours. It is expected to accommodate 80,000 passengers daily during its first five years of operation, adding to the current LRT-2 average daily ridership of 240,000.

“It will be a timely addition to have both new stations in the LRT Line 2 as we acknowledge the need for greater accessibility of passengers coming from the eastern side of Metro Manila, extending to key areas of Antipolo and its nearby cities,” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said on Tuesday.

The construction of the stations is set to be finished by August 2018.

Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) Administrator Reynaldo I. Berroya noted that the project is part of efforts to further decongest Metro Manila roads.

“The completion of the LRT Line 2 East Extension Project is part of the fulfillment of the government’s promise to ease traffic congestion by extending the service of the LRT-2 to the eastern part of Metro Manila,” Mr. Berroya added.

On the other end of LRT-2 -- which will run from Recto to Pier 4 -- Mr. Tugade said the government is targeting to start it by year’s end.

“For the Recto Extension to Pier 4, my instructions are that we should not wait for the completion of the East extension before starting on the West,” Mr. Tugade told reporters during the groundbreaking ceremony in Antipolo.

The LRT-2 west extension is initially expected to run 3.02 kilometers and with three proposed additional stations including Tutuban (next to the Cluster Mall); Divisoria (west of the Recto Avenue and Asuncion Street intersection); and Pier 4 (50 meters north of Zaragoza Street).

Meanwhile, Mr. Berroya said yesterday that discussions are still ongoing on whether to privatize the Operations and Maintenance of both LRT-2 and LRT-1.

“We are studying that, reviewing what direction to take,” the LRTA official said.

“In the next 2-3 board meetings we may have a decision if we privatize,” he added.

The ongoing review will not however consider any cancellation of existing concessions.

LRT-1 to add more trips, cut waiting time

The Light Rail Transit 1 said Wednesday it would add more daily trips, cutting the waiting time for hundreds of thousands of commuters in one of the capital's main elevated railways.
The train system will increase weekday trips by 8 percent to 554 from 512, Light Rail Manila Corp president Rogelio Singson said in a statement.
The extended operating hours, which are on dry run, will be made official, with the first trip on both the Baclaran and Roosevelt Stations set at 4:30 a.m. The last trip will leave Baclaran at 10 p.m. and Roosevelt at 10:15 p.m.
“For LRT-1 passengers, more trips mean shorter waiting time and lesser crowding on the platforms,” Singson said.
The speed limit for trains on the four-kilometer extension from Monumento to Roosevelt will be raised to 60 kilometers per hour from 40 kph, the statement said.
The LRT-1 has 103 trains or light rail vehicles running on its 20-kilometer stretch.

More MRT trains by yearend, official says

The Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT 3) will be able to accommodate more passengers by December 2017 when the power upgrade for additional trains is completed, an official said Monday.
Engr. Deo Leo Manalo, MRT 3 director for operations, said the number of passengers per direction is targeted to be increased from the current 17,730 to 23,600, while the daily estimated ridership will be from 600,000 to 700,000 passengers.
“When there are more trains operating in MRT 3, we need additional power. Currently, ang kaya ng MRT is a certain number, which is 20 trains. If we run more trains, we need more power,” Manalo told the Senate public services committee.
“The power will be completed by November; and by December, pwede na tayo magdagdag ng additional trains,” he added.
Several MRT breakdowns in the past months have prompted the Senate to conduct an inquiry on the supposed inefficient management and maintenance of the train system.
Senator Grace Poe, chair of the committee, said the maintenance and operation of the MRT “are beset with so many problems that it appears that the only solution is to overhaul it completely.”
Poe also slammed the “insensibility of public officials” over the MRT’s frequent breakdowns and the purchase of unusable trains for the capacity expansion project.
“One thing that ticks me the most, aside from the blatant misuse of funds by entering into disadvantageous contracts, is the insensibility of public officials to the plight of the Filipino riding public,” Poe said.
“Hindi ba’t buwis nila ang pinambabayad sa pag-aayos at pagmementena ng mga tren at pagbili sa mga bagong mga bagon? Kung ganun, e di dapat masulit naman ang pinambabayad nila,” she added.
It was earlier reported that new light rail vehicles (LRVs) purchased from China’s Dalian for P3.8 billion will remain unusable for the next three years because it has no signaling system.
Manalo explained during the hearing that Dalian’s train signaling is “compatible” with the MRT trains.
He said the problem is with the “communication between the train computer and the ATP” or the Automatic Train Protection system.
“Sa test na nangyari, hindi natanggap ng ATP 'yung feedback na binigay ng computer. To make the train safe, the ATP instructs for emergency brake but 'yung computer execute 'yung emergency brake. Ang naging problema, 'yung communication between the train computer and the ATP,” Manalo said.
“We’re targeting to solve the feedback issue within the month,” the MRT official assured. —KG, GMA News
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Ex transport execs to face Senate probe over MRT-3

FORMER transportation secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya will appear before a senate inquiry on Monday to explain the controversial contracts entered into by the Transportation Department during the previous administration that are being blamed for the current Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) mess.

Information provided by the Senate committee on public services led by Sen. Grace Poe, said that Abaya has confirmed his attendance in the committee hearing that will focus on the reported inefficient management and maintenance of the MRT 3 resulting in increasing incidents of train malfunction and the newly-delivered Dalian trains that remain unusable.

The maintenance contract with Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI), and the procurement of new light rail vehicle (LRV) both amounting to more than P3 billion were signed during Abaya’s time as secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC).

The current Department of Transportation (DoTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade as well as former and current MRT officials have also been summoned to provide the committee the complete picture of the situation of one of Metro Manila’s main elevated train systems.

According to Poe, Abaya has a lot of explaining to do in so far as the MRT maintenance and new LRV procurement contracts are concerned because it is the people’s money that were used in the deals.

The senator in an earlier statement said lingering questions remain as to why the previous administration failed to check the compatibility of the train design despite much hype about MRT’s capacity expansion and that more commuters would be accommodated.

Abaya, told a senate inquiry in November 2015 that MRT would be able to increase its passenger capacity and improve its services to the riding public with the arrival of new trains and awarding of the tree-year maintenance contract.

The former DOTC secretary in the same hearing also said that three to six train coaches would arrived by the first half of the 2016 and the rest of the orders probably by end of that year.

But up to now the MRT management has not been able to use even a single brand new couch and current MRT officials already announced that they won’t be able to make the new LRV operational until 2018 because of issues on the signaling system, train tracks, and power supply.

“There’s something that they didn’t do that’s why these things aren’t compatible. The parts that they ordered aren’t even compatible with each other,” Poe said earlier.

Poe’s committee will also ask Abaya to explain the multi-billion peso maintenance contract with Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI), a Filipino-Korean joint venture that started maintenance and restoration works in January 2016 on the ageing MRT.

The senator cited in her resolution several memoranda DOTr Undersecretary for Rails and Toll Roads Cesar Chavez sent to BURI over its supposed “non-performance.”

DOTr wants BURI to explain why its P3.8 billion contract should not be rescinded over poor maintenance works on all 73 coaches and overhaul of 43 coaches.

It was learned that no coaches have been turned over, delivered or accepted despite the agreement that 17 of 43 train coaches should have been initially overhauled.

Poe in calling for the inquiry maintained that the exercise of the Senate’s oversight functions, “should ensure a safe, decent and efficient public transportation system, thus, inept and corrupt government officials should not go unpunished for entering into anomalous and patently disadvantageous contracts in the public transportation sector.”

Metro Pacific reviving MRT 3 bid

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is reviving its offer to the government to rehabilitate Metro Rail Transit Line 3.

“We’re thinking of resubmitting our updated proposal on MRT 3. We’re trying to impress the urgency of the issue,” MPIC chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

When asked if the infrastructure conglomerate would offer the same proposal it submitted to the previous administration, Pangilinan said: “There are parts that are different, or parts that are the same.”

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NLEX Segment 10 and Radial Road 10

LRMC starts pre-construction works on LRT-1 Cavite Extension project

Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) has started pre-construction works on the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension project.

The new development will connect the existing line, which currently comprises 20 passenger stations, to an 11.7km alignment that featuring eight additional passenger stations.

The new stations will be Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino and Dr Santos Stations in Parañaque City, Las Piñas and Zapote Stations in Las Piñas City and Niog Station in Bacoor, Cavite.

LRT-1 has been built to support train speeds of up to 80km per hour, and a commercial speed of 60km per hour.

LRMC president and CEO Rogelio Singson said: “The Cavite Extension will serve an additional 300,000 commuters and will significantly reduce travel time from Bacoor, Cavite to Manila from about two hours to about 40 minutes.

“We considered the accessibility of the new stations to shops, schools, and offices to better suit passenger flow from residential and commercial areas.

“LRMC envisions the eight new stations of the LRT-1 to foster a commute that is direct, smooth, and safe for all passengers.”

The objective of the project's overall design is intended to integrate the LRT-1 with other modes of transportation.

"LRMC envisions the eight new stations of the LRT-1 to foster a commute that is direct, smooth, and safe for all passengers."

LRMC signed a concession agreement with the Government of Philippines to operate and manage LRT-1 and construct the Cavite Extension in October 2014, and the company assumed operation and management of the transit line in September 2015.

LRVs were repaired during this timeframe in order to increase the number of functioning vehicles to 100 by December 2016. LRT-1 is also undergoing a rail replacement project to upgrade the line's almost 33-year-old tracks.

The company recently inaugurated the new LRT-1 Doroteo Jose station, which will serve as the improvement project's pilot station.

The development is also set to involve structural upgrades and the addition of new facilities across the 20 existing LRT-1 stations.