
MANILA, Philippines, April 22, 2019 — LRT-1 operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) was announced today as a Gold winner in the sixth annual Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, the only awards program to recognize innovation in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region.
LRMC’s first golden Stevie is for its Automated Train Operations Management System (ATOMS) which was developed internally and launched in February 2018 to enable strategic traffic management that ensures a train is at every station every three minutes.
LRMC President and CEO Juan F. Alfonso said: “ATOMS has enabled LRMC to efficiently optimize its fleet to meet customer needs for more trains, more trips, shorter queueing time, more comfortable and faster rides. Winning our first gold in the Asia Pacific Stevie Awards strengthens our commitment to service excellence in enabling passengers to get home earlier and spend more time with their families.”

Four months into assuming operations of LRT-1, LRMC, through its Information Technology, Operations Support and Engineering teams, together with technical advisors from Paris Metro’s Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens(RATP) began analyzing the requirements to automate the analysis and generation of real-time operational and engineering data for the Company to meet key performance indicators on train availability, train reliability, train punctuality and to strategically improve passenger experience on LRT-1.
Specifically, ATOMS has enabled the Engineering team to ascertain which light rail vehicles (LRVs) are experiencing faults, which trains to pull out of the line and predict which trains are due for preventive maintenance.
With ATOMS, the Operations Support team is able to analyze accurately and generate real-time data needed to ensure train availability, train reliability and train punctuality.
In three years since assuming management of LRT-1, LRMC has been able to improve efficiencies and introduce innovations that resulted in increased number of trains and trips, reduced passenger waiting time, improved safety and cleanliness of the stations, increased ridership, extended operating hours, increased customer satisfaction and the achievement of ISO certifications for quality management and environmental management.
Today, LRT-1 is the fastest mode of transportation in Metro Manila averaging 55 minutes vis-à-vis a 60 minutes’ ride on cars, 60 minutes on a taxi and 100 minutes on a bus. It is also the most efficient in transporting the commuters with a maximum capacity of 347 passengers in one LRV versus six passengers on cars, six on taxis and 60 on a bus.
The Stevie Awards are considered to be the world’s premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in the workplace over the past 17 years in programs such as The International Business Awards® and The American Business Awards®. The name Stevie is derived from the Greek word for “crowned”.
The 2019 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 16 markets including Australia, China including HongKong, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.S.A. and Vietnam. More than 900 nominations about innovative achievements in the 29-nation APAC region were considered by close to 200 judges this year in categories such as Award for Excellence in Innovation in Products & Services, and Award for Innovative Management, among many others.
Stevie winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet at the InterContinental Hotel in Singapore on Friday, 31 May.
“We extend our warmest congratulations to all of this year’s Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners and look forward to celebrating their achievements in Singapore in May,” said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of the Stevie Awards.
About the Stevie® Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at https://www.StevieAwards.com.