By Emmie V. Abadilla The Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) yesterday started boosting the capacity of its Light Rail Transit (LRT)1 EDSA Station, one of the busiest and most jam-packed train stations in Metro Manila, by expanding the structure through the third floor of the adjacent Lianas/Mayson department store and building a new connecting bridge. The initiative is part of LRMC's P8.7 billion upgrade of the country's first and oldest railway since taking over in September, 2015. The LRT1 private operator and maintenance provider is also installing a new roofing system and architectural finishes to the new connecting bridge as well as demolishing old ticket booths to widen the space on top of building a new fire exit for the southeast leg of the station, building new ticket booths, comfort rooms, a Person With Disability (PWD) ramp, putting LED lighting setups, doing interior paint jobs and floor finishes. The EDSA station expansion is in conjunction with the current LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project, which will link Pasay and the rest of Metro Manila to Cavite and shorten travel time. Because of these improvements, LRMC has maintained its ISO certification of compliance to international standards in Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2015) and Environmental Management System (ISO 14001:2015). “We want commuters to have the best travel experience on the LRT-1,” according to LRMC President and CEO Juan F. Alfonso. “All our efforts, including the extension and modernization of the LRT-1 line, are made toward achieving this goal.” The LRT 1 has been operating daily for the last 35 years and multiple sections have suffered from cracked concrete and exposed or damaged rebars. River bridges have deteriorated. Already, the private operator has undertaken concrete repairs, sandblasting to remove corrosion, repainting, installation of new collision dampers to protect bridges from ship collision were done to complete the structural defect restoration works.