MPIC-Ayala consortium takes over LRT 1 O&M

Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) assumed Saturday the operations and maintenance of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1, marking the start of its 32-year concession of the oldest elevated mass transit system in the country.

LRT 1 employees such as booth tellers and train operators wore identification cards and lanyards bearing the LRMC name and logo. The paper tickets issued to northbound passengers likewise bore the LRMC name as the issuer instead of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA).

A turnover ceremony attended by LRTA Administrator Honorito Chaneco and LRMC CEO Jesus Francisco was reportedly held at 12 a.m. last Saturday at the LRT 1 depot in Pasay City.

“The turnover ceremony was held to formalize the government’s turnover and the private concessionaire’s assumption of the operation and maintenance of LRT 1,” Chaneco explained.

To recall, the LRMC won the 64.9billion LRT 1 Cavite Extension Project after offering the highest premium bid of 9.35 billion. The LRMC has secured the right to operate and maintain for 32 years the existing 20.7-kilometer LRT 1 and extend the rail line by 11.7 kilometers from Baclaran up to Niyog town in Bacoor, Cavite. It will also construct eight additional stations along the route in the next five years.

Metro Pacific Investment Corp., (MPIC) through Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., owns 55 percent of the LRMC, while Ayala Corp.’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. owns 35 percent. Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings Philippines PTE Ltd., owns the remaining 10 percent.

As of press time, nobody from the LRMC could be reached to give an assessment on the private company’s maiden day of operating the LRT 1. But earlier, LRMC claimed to have a manpower size of 1,400. Chaneco said at least900 of this number are LRTA personnel absorbed by the LRMC.

“LRMC is taking over a 30-year old train system. Improvements will not happen overnight but we and our 1,400-strong team of Filipino engineers, train drivers and tellers will work rigorously to alleviate the pain points of the riding public,” the LRMC said in an earlier statement.

The LRT 1 currently ferries an average of 500,000 commuters daily between Roosevelt in Quezon City to Baclaran in Pasay. Daily ridership is expected to increase to 800,000 once the LRT 1 is extended to Bacoor in Cavite.

Aside from extending the LRT 1, the government will also procure 120 new light rail vehicles for the LRT 1 through an official development assistance loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Once the procurement is completed, the LRT 1 fleet will be increased to 259 LRVs from the existing 139 units.

According to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, the 64.9billion LRT 1 Cavite Extension Project is expected to benefit 4 million residents in Southern Metro Manila and Cavite.