The Department of Transportation (DOTr) yesterday took delivery of the first batch of 120 train cars for the Light Rail Transit line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite extension project.
The first four light rail vehicles for deployment at the LRT-1 and its Cavite extension starting in the fourth quarter this year were unveiled during an event led by Arthur Tugade, DOTr secretary; Koshikawa Kazuhiko, ambassador of Japan to the Philippines; and Reynaldo Berroya, Light Rail Transit Authority administrator general.
The project, which started 19 years ago, will be partially operational operability within the year.
In mid-2016, an independent consultant for the project’s right of way (ROW) certified that zero percent was “free and clear” — a dismal percentage given that the ROW acquisition got its budget from Congress in 2007, DOTr said.
This was resolved, with the project now more than halfway to completing the first five stations from Baclaran to Sucat, Parañaque, which is targeted to start operation this year, it added.
The DOTr said the project’s overall progress rate stood at 51.61 percent as of end-December 2020, advancing from the 36.8 percent completion rate last March despite the community quarantine imposed due to the pandemic.
The Cavite extension will be linked to the existing line south of Baclaran station, with eight new stations that will run all the way to Niog in Bacoor, Cavite.
The first five stations set for partial operation this year are Redemptorist, MIA, Asiaworld, Ninoy Aquino and Dr. Santos, while the rest of the line to Niog will be opened in 2022.
The new line will have a design speed of 80 kilometers per hour (km/h) for the mainline track, 60km/h through the stations and 30km/h for the secondary and depot tracks. The commercial speed of the Cavite extension will be 60km/h.
It is projected to increase the line’s capacity to accommodate and serve 500,000 to 800,000 passengers daily.
