Light Rail Transit (LRT)-1 temporary suspends its operations this coming weekend, Dec. 3-4, to conduct readiness tests, private operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) announced.
LRMC is gearing up for the re-integration of the LRT-1 Roosevelt Station with its existing 19 operational stations from Baclaran to Balintawak.
During the weekend closure, LRMC will conduct readiness tests, trial runs and exercises to ensure the Roosevelt area is integrated under LRT-1’s brand-new Alstom signalling system.
“We advise our passengers to plan their trips ahead," advised LRMC Chief Operating Officer Rolando J. Paulino III.
"We assure the public that the upcoming weekend closure with temporary inconvenience will result in long-term benefits for our commuters."
"In coordination with our private and government partners, it will be all hands on deck to ensure a safe and successful resumption of commercial operations for the full line,” he added.
Once the results of operational exercises are confirmed to be acceptable, commercial operations from LRT-1 Baclaran Station to LRT-1 Roosevelt Station will resume the next day, December 5, 2022 (Monday).
LRMC wants the LRT-1 Roosevelt Station to be operational as soon as possible after the government handed it over last June, 2022.
LRT-1 Roosevelt Station was temporarily closed September 5, 2020 to accommodate the government’s construction of the Common Station also known as the Unified Grand Central Station (UGCS).
The latter will connect LRT-1, MRT-3, and MRT-7, allowing commuters to transfer from one rail line to another.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and adjustments in the construction timelines of the Common Station, th3 reopening of LRT-1 Roosevelt Station was put on-hold.
LRT-1 operations were limited to serve only Baclaran to Balintawak and vice versa.
"We assure the public that once reopening is confirmed, LRMC will add Roosevelt Station to our existing operational stations,” LRMC Chief Operating Officer Rolando J. Paulino III noted.