LRMC to add more LRT-1 trains

LIGHT RAIL Manila Corp. (LRMC) is set to add more trains to the Light Rail Transit Line-1 (LRT-1) this year.

LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Juan F. Alfonso said the company is planning to add 15 more light rail vehicles (LRV) by late 2018.

“A big portion of our trains are generation 1. We’re starting the rehabilitation of generation 2 trains that will add about another 15 trains in the system,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

This would allow the company to deploy more LRVs to accommodate an expected increase in passengers once the LRT extension to Cavite starts operating by 2021.

“Because for the Cavite Extension, the forecast of that is about 800,000 [passengers] or higher so for that, we’ll have JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) [which will add] around 30 plus coaches,” Mr. Alfonso said.

The company currently has 109 LRVs with a total capacity of 500,000 passengers.

LRMC turned one of its LRVs into a “Love Train” decorated for Valentine’s Day. The Love Train aims to promote environmental awareness.

“We’ll keep it because it’s like a wallpaper on the train, so we’ll keep the theme so when it fades, that’s when we’ll change it,” Mr. Alfonso said.

LRMC’s P500- million station improvement project, which started in 2016 with the expansion of its Doroteo Jose station, is set to finish by next year. —