LRT1 ops suspended on Dec. 3-4 for Roosevelt Station reintegration

Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), the private operator of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1), on Saturday announced the temporary suspension of the line’s operations next weekend to give way for the reintegration of its last terminal, which was closed due to the construction of the government’s Common Station.

In an advisory, LRMC said LRT1 operation will be suspended on December 3, Saturday, and December 4, Sunday, for the reintegration of LRT-1 Roosevelt Station with the rest of the line’s 19 operational stations from Baclaran to Balintawak.

During the weekend closure, the company said it will conduct readiness tests, trial runs, and exercises to check integration of the Roosevelt area under LRT-1’s brand-new Alstom signaling system.

“We advise our passengers to plan their trips ahead. 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,” said LRMC chief operating officer Rolando Paulino III.

Once the results of operational exercises are confirmed to be acceptable, target commencement of commercial operations from LRT1 Baclaran Station until LRT1 Roosevelt Station will be the next day, December 5, Monday.

This is on the back of LRMC’s efforts to make LRT1 Roosevelt Station become operational at the soonest possible time after being handed over by the government last June 2022, the company said.

The LRT1 Roosevelt Station was temporarily closed last September 5, 2020 to accommodate the government’s construction of the Common Station or  known as the Unified Grand Central Station (UGCS), which is planned to connect the systems of LRT1, MRT3, and MRT7 and allow commuters to seamlessly 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, reopening of LRT1 Roosevelt Station was put on-hold resulting in limited LRT1 operations servicing only from Baclaran to Balintawak (vice versa).

“We advise commuters to stay tuned as we conduct these readiness tests along the LRT-1 and be updated on the status of Roosevelt reopening. We assure the public that once reopening is confirmed, LRMC is ready to serve our LRT-1 passengers adding Roosevelt Station to our existing operational stations,” said Paulino III. —LBG, GMA Integrated News