DOTr: LRT-1 extension project over 50% finished

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) extension to Cavite province was more than halfway finished and is expected to be partially operating by the end of 2021.

This was revealed as the project, which was bid out under the previous administration’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) program, achieved an overall progress rate of 51.6 percent at the end of 2020.

The LRT-1 is now being operated and expanded by the Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), a venture between Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp. The consortium formally took over in 2015.

The 20.7-kilometer LRT-1 stretches from Roosevelt station in Quezon City to Baclaran station in Pasay City. Meanwhile, the PPP project will extend the railway line by 11.7-km to Niog, Bacoor, in Cavite.

The DOTr said recent construction activities include the bored piling, pier/portal column works and the construction of train stations.

“The accelerated pace of construction also includes the expansion of the existing depot in Baclaran, and the building of a new satellite depot at Zapote,” the DOTr said.

Once finished, the line will cut travel time from Baclaran to Bacoor from over an hour by car to 25 minutes. The expanded railway system is expected to serve some 500,000 to 800,000 passengers per day. INQ