Work on LRT-1 extension to Cavite begins

Construction of the extension of the Light Rail Transit-1 (LRT-1) from Baclaran to Cavite started Tuesday, two years after its groundbreaking.

A total of 11.7 kilometers will be added to the existing railway system that will connect Metro Manila and Baclaran through a railway network.

According to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, who led the official start of construction through a gathering in Paranaque City, the LRT extension will feature eight new train stations, five of which will be partially operational by the fourth quarter of 2021.

The usual travel time of one hour and 10 minutes from Baclaran to Cavite will be reduced to just 25 minutes once the railway network is completed.

Tugade explained it took two years for the actual work to begin because of right of way problems.

He said when the current administration assumed office “there was no right of way in 2016, in 2017. It is zero certification.”

“But after two years that zero certification is now more than 92 percent (completed). In other words, in terms of right of way, this project is a go,” Tugade said.

Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said it has been 18 years since the project to extend LRT-1 to Cavite was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

“Now after almost two decades and three administrations, all that we need are here to finally start and finish the LRT-1 extension,” Batan said.

In the span of two years, Tugade reported that informal settler families affected by the project have been relocated while additional light rail vehicles have started arriving into the country.

A deal to extend Baclaran Depot and build an additional depot for the vehicles have also been closed.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/05/07/work-on-lrt-1-extension-to-cavite-begins/

Construction on LRT-1 extension to Cavite starts

Construction on the LRT-1 extension from Pasay City to Cavite province began on Tuesday, 5 years after it was awarded to Light Rail Manila Corp, the Department of Transportation said.

The extension, spanning nearly 21 kilometers, will add 8 stations from Baclaran: Redemptorist, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niog, the agency said.

Five stations from Baclaran will be operational by the end of 2021, the DOTr said.

Once completed, the extension will nearly double the LRT's daily ridership to 800,000 from 458,000. It will also reduce travel time from Cavite to Baclaran to 25 minutes from 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Light Rail Manila, a joint venture composed of Ayala Corp, Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings, will manage the LRT 1 for 32 years.

After more than two decades, LRT1 Cavite Extension project starts actual construction today, May 7. Here’s a first look on what the train sets for the rail extension project will look like: pic.twitter.com/9WIdgjVCEj

— Jacque Manabat (@jacquemanabat) May 7, 2019

https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/07/19/construction-on-lrt-1-extension-to-cavite-starts

Construction of LRT-1 Cavite extension begins

Construction of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension officially started Tuesday, almost five years after the project was awarded to Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC).

Officials, including Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, and re-electionist Senator Cynthia Villar attended the program marking the commencement of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension construction located along C5 Highway in Parañaque City.

Undersecretary for Railways Atty. Timothy John Batan, LRMC President Juan Felipe Alfonso, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Representative Yoshio Wada were also present in the event.

The Cavite Extension project will establish additional stations for LRT-1, namely, Aseana, MIA, Asiaworld, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote, and Niog in Cavite. It will cover 11.7 kilometers and expected to accommodate up to 800,000 passengers daily.

Officials said operation of the first five new LRT-1 stations is set by end of 2021. They also said the project is anticipated to reduce travel time from Cavite to Baclaran from over an hour to 25 minutes.

The LRT-1 Cavite Extension project is carried out with JICA’s assistance. It is part of the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program.

Currently, LRT-1’s stations run from Roosevelt in Quezon City and stops at Baclaran in Parañaque City. LRMC is the operator of LRT-1, which has a daily average ridership of 458,000. /kga

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1114819/construction-of-lrt-1-cavite-extension-begins

Construction of LRT1 Cavite extension 'full steam ahead'

The first 5 stations of the LRT1 Cavite extension are expected to begin operations by the 4th quarter of 2021

The construction of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Cavite extension is "full steam ahead," said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Tuesday, May 7.

The 11.7-kilometer railway extension project started construction in April. A ceremony was held on Tuesday to mark the beginning of the construction.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Cavite extension was actually held back in May 2017. But the project faced right-of-way issues, delaying construction several times.

In a statement on Monday, May 6, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said they have since relocated informal settlers, addressed issues with utilities, and cleared the construction yard.

The right-of-way acquisition is about 90% completed too, the DOTr said.

Partial operations for the first 5 stations – Redemptorist, MIA, Asiaworld, Ninoy Aquino, and Dr Santos – should start by the 4th quarter of 2021.

The Cavite extension will be connected to the existing system immediately south of the Baclaran Station, and run all the way to Niog, Cavite.

It is expected to cut travel time from Manila to Cavite to 25 minutes from over an hour, and would expand the current LRT1 capacity from 300,000 to 800,000 by the time it is completed.

Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) took over the operations, maintenance, and extension of the LRT1 in September 2015, after bagging the P64.9-billion ($1.25-billion) LRT1 Cavite extension deal.

LRMC is a consortium of Ayala Corporation, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, and the Macquarie Group.

https://www.rappler.com/business/229873-lrt1-cavite-extension-construction-full-steam-ahead-may-2019

Construction of LRT1 Cavite extension kicks off

By TED CORDERO, GMA News

Almost five years after the project was awarded to a private proponent, the construction of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Cavite Extension has finally begun on Tuesday.

The P64.9-billion project was awarded to the Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) in September 2014.

The LRMC is a consortium of the Ayala Corporation, Metro Pacific Light Rail Corporation, and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings.

The LRMC, however, only took over the operations and maintenance of the LRT1 rail system in September 2015.

Under the deal, the private operator shall manage the LRT1 for 32 years, during which it will also extend the line by 11.7 kilometers to 32.4 km from the current 20.7 km.

The contract states that the LRMC, as the private partner, will undertake the design, construction, and financing of the Cavite Extension, as well as the operation and maintenance of the integrated system upon completion of the project.

The project, however, took much longer to be implemented as the project was originally approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board last August 25, 2000.

“After 18 years, eight months, and 13 days” the project is finally starting full-blown construction, Transportation Undersecretary for Raile Timothy John Batan said during the ceremony of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension’s construction kickoff in Parañaque City.

The project will extend the LRT1’s last station in Baclaran all the way to Bacoor City in Cavite.

The additional 11.7-kilometer line is comprised of eight new stations namely, Redemptorist, MIA, Asiaworld, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote, and Niog. The project also includes provisions for the construction of two additional passenger stations — Manuyo and Talaba.

Once the project is complete, the Cavite Extension will extend LRT1 from its current 20 km to 32.4 km, accommodating up to 800,000 passengers daily nearly doubling its current average ridership of 458,000 passengers a day.

Travel time from Cavite to Baclaran will be reduced from one hour and 10 minutes to only 25 minutes.

Partial operations from Baclaran to Dr. Santos Station is targeted to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2021.

To recall, former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III in 2013 said that he, along with former Transportation and Communciations Secretary Emilio Joseph "Jun" Abaya, was willing to be run over by a train if the project does not materialize by 2015.

Then Communications Secretary Herminio "Sonny" Coloma would later say Aquino's "statement (in 2013 should) not be taken literally."

Abaya earlier said that the delays were caused by the failure in the project's bidding process under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program. — MDM, GMA News

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/693580/construction-of-lrt1-cavite-extension-kicks-off/story/

Construction of LRT-1 Cavite extension kicks off

After a two-year delay, the construction of the Light Rail Transit (LRT-1) Cavite extension finally began onTuesday.

Government officials previously announced that the construction would start on June 2017, a month after they broke ground for the project. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) explained that right of way issues impeded work on the P64.9-billion railway.

The LRT-1 currently has 20 stations from Roosevelt in Quezon City to Baclaran in Pasay City. In the extension project, eight new stations will be built in Aseana, Manila International Airport, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, and Dr. A. Santos stations in Parañaque City, Las Piñas and Zapote stations in Las Piñas City, and Niog station in Bacoor, Cavite.

The 11.7-kilometer extension is expected to increase the entire LRT-1 passenger load from 300,000 to 800,000 daily.

Once operational, it will cut travel time from Bacoor, Cavite to Metro Manila by two hours and 40 minutes.

The DOTr said the railway project will be partially operational in 2021.

http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/5/7/lrt-1-cavite-extension-construction.html

PNR asked to distribute Mabalacat railway lands

MABALACAT City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo has asked the Philippine National Railways (PNR) to distribute the lands inside the train tracks here to some 6,456 families or 29,052 informal settlers.

Garbo, in his letter to PNR board chairman Roberto Lastimoso and general Manager Junn Magno dated April 26, 2019, stated that the properties should be distributed to the actual occupants if the railway corporation will no longer utilize the train’s old alignment.

“Should the subject PNR property shall no longer be used considering the entirely different line where the North-South Commuter Railway Extension (NSCR-Ex) Project shall be constructed, the city government of Mabalacat humbly proposes and requests that the same be distributed to its bona fide Mabalaqueño occupants,” Garbo told Lastimoso and Magno.

On January 8, 2018, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) invited the city government of Mabalacat to an orientation, briefing and coordination on the flagship projects of President Rodrigo Duterte, which is the railway extension from Malolos, Bulacan to Clark Freeport, according to the mayor.

“As one of the local government units where the proposed railway shall pass through, our cooperation and support was sought to ensure smooth and coordinated implementation of the project,” Garbo said.

During the meeting, it was revealed that the new railway will no longer be aligned along the old track based on the official plan.

“A close perusal of the official plan of the North-South Commuter Railway Extension Project will show that the new railway line shall no longer be using the PNR right of way, as the instant project shall be constructed in a different location far from the latter,” he added.

Considering the apparent abandonment of the subject PNR property, Garbo is inquiring the agency’s plans for the properties.

Garbo assured the PNR officials that the local government is willing to cooperate and assist the agency and other departments in the distribution of the property.

The mayor said that city planning officer Rosann Paquia was designated to take charge of all coordination and communication with the PNR regarding the LGU’s proposal.

“It is but our foremost aspiration that no Mabalaqueño shall be an informal settler in Mabalacat,” Garbo told the PNR executives.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1804529