Light Rail Manila Consortium, led by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp., will invest P500 million for the facelift of LRT Line 1, the oldest metro system in Southeast Asia.
LRMC president and chief executive Jesus Francisco told reporters the company allotted P500 million for the improvement of 20 passenger stations at the existing LRT Line 1.
“We are actually targeting to start by December and complete it in 15 to 18 months,” Francisco said.
The Station Improvement Project will start with Doroteo Jose Station, the interchange terminal of LRT Lines 1 and 2 in Sta. Cruz, Manila.
He said after the improvements, the stations would be well-lit and better organized to allow better passenger flow. Construction for Doroteo Jose Station is targeted to start in December 2015.
Under the plan, the improvement of the two biggest stations, Central and Baclaran, and three smaller stations, R. Papa, Abad Santos, and Gil Puyat will start March 2016, . The rest of the 14 stations will start between May and August 2016.
“The Station Improvement Project complements our plan to enhance passenger safety, comfort and convenience and is aligned with our objective of improving the efficiency of the LRT1 system.” Francisco said.
Francisco said the improvement of LRT stations was also in preparation for the delivery of brand-new 120 light rail vehicles, which the government was currently procuring.
“When government brings in new light rail vehicles, we expect passenger traffic to increase, thus, the need to make sure that the stations are ready to handle the expanded capacity,” he said.
The new LRVs are expected to be delivered between 2017 and 2018.
LRT Line 1 currently accommodates a daily average of 400,000 commuters from Baclaran in Pasay City to Roosevelt in Quezon City.
LRMC took over the operation and maintenance of LRT Line 1 on Sept. 12. It will also be responsible for the construction of the 11.7-kilometer extension from the present end point at Baclaran to the Niog area in Bacoor, Cavite.
The extended rail line is expected to help increase the capacity of LRT 1 from 500,000 to 800,000 passengers daily and benefit more than four million residents in the southern part of Metro Manila and of Cavite.
LRMC won the P65-billion LRT Line 1 extension project, with a premium bid of P9.35 billion in September 2014.
Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. controls 55 percent of the consortium while AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. has 35 percent. The Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Ltd. has 10 percent.