MANILA, Philippines – The Light Rail Transit line 2 (LRT-2) will temporarily shorten its operating hours due to the increasing number of LRT-2 frontline personnel infected with COVID-19, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) said.

In an advisory, the LRTA said the shortened operating hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. will be implemented starting Saturday, April 17 until April 30.

“Consistent with the guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), our Management opted to shorten the operating hours so as to help us prevent the further spread of the virus and avoid the possible paralysis of our operations in case the numbers continue to surge,” LRTA Administrator Reynaldo Berroya said.

Out of 1,944 total LRT-2 employees, 1,906 have been tested from April 7 to 8. Of this number, 273 individuals were found positive for coronavirus.

The LRTA said that only 56% are currently functioning among ticket management and sales collection personnel, and about 73% among train drivers. Some 68% of the station personnel are left available with the rest under quarantine due to COVID-19 infection or exposure.

“We have already isolated all the infected/exposed personnel, have implemented work-from-home arrangements for depot workers, revisited train ventilation and air-flow protocols, and ensured that all minimum public health standards are complied with at all times to avoid the further spread of the virus,” Berroya said.

He said that the reduced operating hours will allow the LRTA to still effectively manage LRT-2 operations considering the manpower deficit and allow COVID-19 afflicted employees to recover and complete their mandatory quarantine/isolation period.

The LRTA also noted that under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) being implemented until April 30, LRT-2 is expected to experience a significant decline in ridership.

“At this time of public health emergency, the welfare and safety of both our passengers and personnel must always come first,” Berroya said.

The LRTA appealed to passengers to strictly observe all the COVID-19 protocols, stressing that “the road to beat the virus is a two-way street.”

Passengers are also reminded to always wear face masks and face shields, to be self-aware and socially disciplined, and to adhere to all COVID-19 health and safety measures in place.

Meanwhile, buses are plying Route 9 (Antipolo to Cubao) and Route 10 (Cubao to Doroteo Jose) to augment LRT-2 operations and to help accommodate affected passengers.

The normal LRT-2 operating schedule will resume on May 1, 2021, the LRTA said

MANILA, Philippines – The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) is looking to have more operational trains at the Light Rail Transit line 2 (LRT-2) by next month or just in time for the opening of the LRT-2 East Extension project.

“We are fast-tracking the restoration of the three trainsets to augment the existing operational trains of Line 2 and to reduce the current 14-minute headway to nine minutes,” LRTA Administrator Reynaldo Berroya said in a statement issued on Thursday.

The Department of Transportation earlier announced that two additional stations of the LRT-2 East Extension project – Marikina Station (in front of the Sta. Lucia mall and Robinsons) and the Antipolo Station (in front of SM Masinag) – will start operations on April 27.

The two new stations will serve commuters from Recto, Manila going to Masinag, Antipolo, and back, with travel time expected to be cut down to just around 40 minutes.

Last March 5, Berroya conducted a random inspection of the ongoing installation of train propulsion system and train monitoring system on three trainsets at LRT-2 Depot Maintenance Area.

LRT-2 maintenance provider AMSCO JV (joint venture of APT Global Inc., MultiScan Corporation, and Opus Land, Inc.) and manufacturer Woojin Industrial Systems Co, Ltd started the installation of the said systems last March 3, 2021.

Berroya said that fielding more trains will result in the accommodation of more than 20,000 passengers daily in addition to the current average daily ridership of 40,000.

“As train occupancy of passengers is regulated during this time of pandemic with passenger safety as our top priority, deploying additional trains will certainly help us cut the travel time of our commuters,” he said

“With the commitment provided by our maintenance provider, manufacturer, and the LRTA, we expect to have eight trainsets and ten trainsets by 2nd quarter and 3rd quarter of 2021, respectively,” he added.

Berroya also stressed that other down trains are set to be rehabilitated and new trainsets are planned to be procured for the LRT-2 East and West Extension Projects.

MANILA, Philippines – The management of the Light Rail Transit line 2 (LRT-2) on Thursday announced it has temporarily suspended operations following a fire incident at the Santolan station.

In an advisory, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) said a UPS or Uninterrupted Power Supply at the station caught fire on Thursday morning.

“LRT-2 has temporarily suspended operations following a fire incident at Santolan this morning caused by burnt UPS,” the LRTA said.

“Investigation and intervention ongoing,” it added.

Initial report said the fire incident took place around 5 a.m. and lasted for less than an hour.

“Operations will immediately resume after verifying that no other system (equipment) has been affected,” it said.