THE LIGHT RAIL Manila Corporation (LRMC) which operates the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), is set to break ground for the extension project that will connect Baclaran to Bacoor in Cavite within the first quarter.
“We will break ground in late February or early March. Under the contract, you can only issue notice to proceed once the right of way is totally cleared of informal settlers, utilities… I said I don’t need notice to proceed, I just need permit to enter,” LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Rogelio L. Singson told reporters at the sidelines of a briefing for the launching of the new Doroteo Jose Station yesterday.
“With permit to enter, I can start fencing, clearing, and a lot of engineering works, buying us a year or more,” said Mr. Singson, who was the Public Works and Highways secretary during the Aquino administration.
In September 2015, LRMC, the consortium of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd., bagged the P64.9-billion LRT-1 Cavite Extension public-private partnership project. It involves rehabilitation of the existing 21-kilometer (km.) line and an 11.7-km. extension from Baclaran to Bacoor.
Construction of the LRT extension project was slated to start in 2015, but has been hampered by right-of-way issues.
Mr. Singson said the extension project is targets to be completed in about four years or by 2021, as initially projected, with LRMC tapping French companies Bouygues Travaux Publics and Alstom Transport Private Limited.
Under the extension project, there will be eight new stations with three intermodal facilities -- Dr. Santos, Zapote, and Niog. The new stations will be Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niog.
Meanwhile, LRMC also announced the replacement of the LRT-1 rails is 40% complete and expected to be completed by the end of 2017 for the 26 kilometer-stretch -- 21 kilometers on the northbound route and five kilometers on the southbound route.
Mr. Singson said the completion of the rehabilitation will increase light rail vehicles’ maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour (kph) from its current 40 kph. It is also expected to expand the trains’ lifespan, significantly improve the efficiency of the whole train system, and “avoid wear and tear of the rolling stock.”
On Monday, LRMC unveiled the newly improved Doroteo Jose Station on the LRT-1, the first for the company’s P500-million station improvement project.
LRMC said the Doroteo Jose Station will serve an average of 27,000 passengers daily connecting to LRT-2.
“Doroteo Jose is just the beginning. We are now working on the rest of the project’s phases and, with the support of our commercial partners, we are hoping to see more enhancements at the other stations by the end of this year,” Mr. Singson said.
LRMC started the refurbishment of the Doroteo Jose station in December 2015. The next phase of the project will cover Central Terminal, United Nations, Gil Puyat, Abad Santos, Pedro Gil, and R. Papa stations.
“We will break ground in late February or early March. Under the contract, you can only issue notice to proceed once the right of way is totally cleared of informal settlers, utilities… I said I don’t need notice to proceed, I just need permit to enter,” LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Rogelio L. Singson told reporters at the sidelines of a briefing for the launching of the new Doroteo Jose Station yesterday.
“With permit to enter, I can start fencing, clearing, and a lot of engineering works, buying us a year or more,” said Mr. Singson, who was the Public Works and Highways secretary during the Aquino administration.
In September 2015, LRMC, the consortium of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd., bagged the P64.9-billion LRT-1 Cavite Extension public-private partnership project. It involves rehabilitation of the existing 21-kilometer (km.) line and an 11.7-km. extension from Baclaran to Bacoor.
Construction of the LRT extension project was slated to start in 2015, but has been hampered by right-of-way issues.
Mr. Singson said the extension project is targets to be completed in about four years or by 2021, as initially projected, with LRMC tapping French companies Bouygues Travaux Publics and Alstom Transport Private Limited.
Under the extension project, there will be eight new stations with three intermodal facilities -- Dr. Santos, Zapote, and Niog. The new stations will be Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niog.
Meanwhile, LRMC also announced the replacement of the LRT-1 rails is 40% complete and expected to be completed by the end of 2017 for the 26 kilometer-stretch -- 21 kilometers on the northbound route and five kilometers on the southbound route.
Mr. Singson said the completion of the rehabilitation will increase light rail vehicles’ maximum speed to 60 kilometers per hour (kph) from its current 40 kph. It is also expected to expand the trains’ lifespan, significantly improve the efficiency of the whole train system, and “avoid wear and tear of the rolling stock.”
On Monday, LRMC unveiled the newly improved Doroteo Jose Station on the LRT-1, the first for the company’s P500-million station improvement project.
LRMC said the Doroteo Jose Station will serve an average of 27,000 passengers daily connecting to LRT-2.
“Doroteo Jose is just the beginning. We are now working on the rest of the project’s phases and, with the support of our commercial partners, we are hoping to see more enhancements at the other stations by the end of this year,” Mr. Singson said.
LRMC started the refurbishment of the Doroteo Jose station in December 2015. The next phase of the project will cover Central Terminal, United Nations, Gil Puyat, Abad Santos, Pedro Gil, and R. Papa stations.
