Phase 1 of LRT-1 Cavite Extension to open in November: DOTr
Heads up, commuters: Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension will begin its operations this November.
Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista announced on Thursday, Nov. 7 that the first phase of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension railway project will officially operate this November. The exact date has yet to be announced.
“We are here to announce the partial opening of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 Extension—this is the Cavite Extension. We will open this line within the next maybe two to three weeks, this is within November,” Bautista said during the press briefing, as per the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
The first phase will connect the Baclaran Station in Pasay City to Dr. Santos Station in Parañaque City, which is projected to reduce travel time by 30 minutes.
Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) General Manager Enrico Benipayo said that Phase 1 will have five new stations, namely Redemptorist Station, MIA Station, Asia World (PITX) Station, Ninoy Aquino Station, and Dr. Santos Station.
The phase 1 railway extension makes an additional six kilometers to the current 20 kilometers of the LRT-1.
“This will allow people to traverse the alignment within a span of less than an hour,” he said.
Benipayo added that the project reduces the travel time of the commuters coming from Quezon City to Parañaque City and vice versa by less than an hour. It is expected to accommodate approximately 80,000 passengers daily during the first year of operations, The current average number of passengers of line 1 is 323,000 daily, as per Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC).
As per the management, phase 1 of the extension is undergoing “system integration works, commissioning of train sets, and operational readiness tests to ensure a safe and seamless integration of the existing LRT-1 system with the extended line.” They added that they have already installed and tested the automated entrance gates, ticket vending machines, and teller booths.
The second phase of the project will extend to Las Piñas and Zapote Stations, while Phase 3 will be the Niog Station in Bacoor, Cavite. LRMC is eyeing to complete the whole project by 2031.