HERE’S one piece of good news for Metro Manila commuters.
We’re looking forward to the westward extension of Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 that covers part of Antipolo City in the east to part of Claro M. Recto in the west.
We had long wondered why the planners of this LRT line made it stop right after crossing Rizal Avenue along Recto, or Azcarraga St. to oldtimers.
The West Extension Project will extend the line from its current endpoint in Recto and add stations in Divisoria, Tutuban, and Pier 4.
This will mean convenient trips for those intending to do bargain hunting in Divisoria marketplace and an easier route for passengers traveling to the Port of Manila to board inter-island vessels for various points in the Visayas and Mindanao islands.
That is, if everything proceeds according to plan.
Why didn’t the Department of Transportation (DOTr) think of this before? We really don’t know. It could be the lack of adequate financing. Or they simply didn’t see the economic benefit of connecting the Divisoria and Port Area to the eastern part of Metro Manila brining odnt
The LRT 2 extension will add an additional five kilometers toward the Port Area, thus allowing passengers taking inter-island ferries to get there faster.
The project was first proposed in 2019 with an initial completion target of 2023. However, like many government projects, it faced delays over funding constraints.
The total investment for the West Extension Project is estimated at P10 billion, but only P2 billion has been allocated for property acquisitions and utility relocation works.
To prevent possible delays, the DOTr has prioritized securing right-of-way acquisitions and relocating utilities and informal settlers in the affected locations.
In preparation for the extension, the LRT-2 has made a few improvements in its current operations. The number of operational train sets has increased from six or seven in 2022 to ten in 2024, with an additional unit under repair. Each train set comprises four passenger coaches.
At present, LRT-2 has 13 stations from Recto Station to Antipolo Station. In 2021, the East Extension Project added two new stations: Marikina-Pasig and Antipolo. Plans are underway to extend the line farther to Cogeo in Antipolo, with at least three additional stations in the pipeline.
More light rail networks are really what’s needed in Metro Manila whose population expands every year.
LRT/MRT lines as well as bus routes can carry more passengers in the years ahead and horrible traffic jams that make the city among the world’s worst in traffic congestion.