Month: February 2018

08 FEBRUARY 2018, MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Rail operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) recently signed a P450-million agreement with engineering and industrial company Voith Digital Solutions Austria GmBH and Co KG for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the generation-2 trains of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1).

According to LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Juan F. Alfonso, Voith will be re-engineering 24 generation-2 light rail vehicles (LRVs) over the next two years of six train sets.

“The rehabilitation of the 24 LRVs will expand capacity which should result in faster travel time because of reduced train headway and queueing time,” Alfonso said. “This is another step that will significantly improve our passengers’ daily commute.”

The project will be the first overhaul of the Generation 2 fleet’s propulsion system since the Philippine Government bought the generation-2 trains from Hyundai and Adtranz Sweden in 1999.

The current fleet of LRT-1 includes 51 generation-1 LRVs bought in 1984, eight generation-2 LRVs bought in 1999, and 44 generation-3 LRVs bought in 2007. Last month, the Department of Transportation signed the procurement of 120 new LRVs for delivery in 2020.

LRMC has already completed the P1 billion rehabilitation program on Generation 1 LRVs, resulting in the increase of the fleet from 77 to 109 LRVs and the number of daily trips from 498 to 554. As such, interval between trains and queueing time have been reduced.

In less than two years since assuming management of LRT-1, LRMC was able to improve efficiencies that increased the number of trains and trips, reduced passenger waiting time, increased ridership, increased customer satisfaction, improved safety and cleanliness of the stations, and the achievement of ISO certifications for quality management and environmental management–all milestones in the 32-year history of Manila’s oldest light rail system.

MANILA, Philippines – In celebration of the love month, LRT-1 operator Light Rail Manila Corporation brings back the LRT-1 love train with a new fun twist. Anchored on the theme #LRT1Love, Love for All, LRMC again transformed one of their trains into a colorful love train to commemorate Valentine’s and remind passengers that love can be expressed in different forms and through different means.

Through this year’s Love Train, LRMC promotes environmental awareness among its passengers who spend most of their time hustling around the bricks and buildings of the metro.

One Generation 3 train which has four light rail vehicles (LRVs) will feature familiar scenes on air, forest, ocean and watershed. These will not only provide a quick change in scenery for the commuters, it will also be an opportunity for LRMC to remind the passengers of the type of love they might have been taking for granted and prompt them to act for nature.

The Love Train is a part of LRMC’s effort in promoting a “feel-good” experience for its passengers through themed trains during Valentines, Christmas and other holidays.

As an added treat, LRMC also invites passengers to share their special Valentine’s greetings on LRMC’s social media pages using the hashtag#LRT1Love and by tagging @officialLRT1 on Twitter and Instagram and Light Rail Manila Corporation page on Facebook. Passengers and their loved ones will get to watch the greetings as they will be flashed on LRT-1 station screens on the weekends of February from 8 AM to 3 PM.

Apart from the Love Train, LRMC has been staying true to its commitment to the environment through its Live for the Rivers Movement Coalition, an ongoing cleanup campaign launched in 2016. The campaign encourages the locals living nearby Metro Manila’s longest creek, Estero de Tripa de Gallina, to be responsible residents and be accountable to the health and cleanliness of the creek. It organizes clean up missions and provides sustainable livelihood program for the communities.

The LRT-1 love train arrived on February 5 for its year-long run to spread love and good vibes.

LRMC is a joint venture company of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation’s Metro Pacific Light Rail Corporation (MPLRC), Ayala Corporation’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation (AC Infra), and the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) PTE Ltd. (MIHPL)