LIGHT Rail Manila Corp., a consortium led by Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., said on Thursday more trains would be deployed at the LRT Line 1 to accommodate more passengers.
The operator of LRT Line 1 said it has rehabilitated and increased the number of running light rail vehicles (LRVs) to 96 as of end-November.
LRMC took over the operation and maintenance of the system last September 2015 with only 77 functioning LRVs.
Through the work of its engineering team, LRMC was able to restore almost 20 more LRVs, while waiting for the procurement and arrival of 120 more LRVs in 2018.
“The increased capacity has enabled LRT 1 to accommodate more passengers and deploy up to 30 trains daily,” LRMC said.
LRMC earlier won the P65-billion LRT Line 1 extension project, with a premium bid of P9.35 billion in September 2014.
LRMC is responsible for the construction of the 11.7-kilometer extension from the present end point in Baclaran to the Niog area in Bacoor, Cavite.
It will consist of elevated guideways throughout most of the alignment, except for the guideway section at Zapote which will be located at grade. It will consist of the satellite depot and new station.
The extended rail line is expected to help increase the capacity of LRT 1 from 500,000 to 800,000 passengers daily and benefit more than four million residents in the southern part of Metro Manila and of Cavite.
Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. controls 55 percent of the consortium while AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. has 35 percent. Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Ltd. owns 10 percent.