MANILA, Philippines – The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) on Friday announced that limited trips may be implemented at the LRT-2 stations from Cubao to Recto and vice versa sometime next week.
This was due to the severe damage sustained by two of its rectifier substations after it tripped and caught fire on Thursday, Oct. 3.
LRTA administrator Reynaldo Berroya said the degraded train operations will be implemented after the safety of equipment and facilities have been fully checked.
“Test runs and safety checks of all equipment and facilities such as signaling, communications, power, and trains should be completed before we can partially operate,” Berroya said in a statement.
However, operations in Santolan, Katipunan and Anonas stations will remain suspended at a maximum of nine months as “the replacement of the damaged rectified substations necessitates a highly-technical intervention.”
The LRTA said the process of procurement, delivery, and installation, as well as the testing and commissioning of its replacement, will require time to complete.
“With the operations from Santolan to Anonas still temporarily suspended, buses from the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) and the Philippine Coast Guard are being deployed to ferry the affected passengers during peak hours,” the agency said.
It is also coordinating with the Department of Transportation and other concerned agencies to allow buses and UV express services to ply an out-of-line route at the stations were operations are temporarily halted.
LRT-2 operations have been suspended since Thursday, forcing thousands of its passengers to find alternative modes of transportation.
Damage in its rectifier substations is estimated to have reached P428 million, the LRTA said.
The possible cause of the incident is still being investigated, and engineers involved in the design and installation of the said facilities are set to fly into the country from the US to help in the probe.
The LRT-2 management has appealed anew for understanding and patience from the riding public affected by the incident.
“The LRTA will exhaust all efforts to fast track the repair and upgrade of the system as several modernization and rehabilitation projects are underway,” it added.
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