Category: Company News

Inquirer COO Rene Reinoso and LRMC President, CEO Juan Alfonso successfully signs the agreement to continue the distribution of Inquirer Libre in LRT-1 stations

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Light Rail Manila Corporation President and CEO Juan Alfonso and Inquirer COO Rene Reinoso on Thursday, February 21 sealed a two-year deal to allow the Philippine Daily inquirer to continue distributing Inquirer Libre at all stations of LRT-1.

“…this distribution of Inquirer Libre serves as our continuing effort to promote to our passengers the habit of reading”

With this partnership, LRMC remains committed to provide the riding public not only a safe, efficient, and reliable transportation but free and relevant newspaper every day to keep the passengers informed and updated of news and events happening around with the help of the country’s leading news source.

Alfonso said, “Aligned with the mission of our last Teacher’s Train where we dressed up our light rail vehicles (LRVs) to look like a library, this distribution of Inquirer Libre to twenty stations of LRT-1 also serves as our continuing effort to promote to our passengers the habit of reading.”

Inquirer has been distributing its free newspaper to LRT-1 stations since 2001. “We are very happy that LRMC has given Libre this opportunity again to be of service to the commuters,” Reinoso shared.

Both parties signed the agreement with LRMC Corporate Communications Head Rochelle Gamboa and Inquirer Libre Publisher Abelardo Ulanday as witnesses.

Aside from the free newspaper, readers can also access Libre on social media through facebook.com/Inquirerlibre, @inquirer_libre on Twitter, @inquirerlibre on Instagram.

MANILA, Philippines – Light Rail Manila Corporation and the Philippine National Police successfully inked, Wednesday, February 6, a Memorandum of Agreement to strengthen safety and security measures in all 20 stations of LRT-1.

“Our partnership will bring more police visibility
to our trains and our stations.” 

LRMC President and CEO Juan F. Alfonso shared that when LRMC first took over the LRT-1 operations in 2015, it had an average daily ridership of approximately 400,000 but in the end of 2018, it has reached an average of more than 540,000 passengers.

Once the Cavite Extension Project is completed, LRT-1 will have additional eight stations and the daily ridership is anticipated to increase to 800,000. Certainly, the safety and security of passengers is a shared concern between LRMC and PNP.

“Our partnership will bring more police visibility to our trains and our stations. Thru the presence of PNP uniformed personnel and police assistance desks, we hope that unwanted threats will be deterred. Our more than 540,000 passengers daily deserve no less. World-class service. Para sa bayan,” Alfonso said.

The PNP likewise believes that the partnership is a good step to open windows of opportunities for greater collaboration towards a common objective of making public transportation consistently safe and secure.

Police Deputy Director General Camilo Pancratius Cascolan in his speech delivered by National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Director Guillermo Eleazar, assured that PNP will perform harder and better leading towards a safer place to live in, work, and do business.

“We thank the LRMC for giving us this privilege of partnering with them, and may the torch of friendship and collaboration between our two agencies continue to burn bright,” Cascolan stated.

LRT line 1 being one of the biggest transport installations in the National Capital Region crosses the cities of Paranaque, Pasay, Manila, Quezon City, and Caloocan.

In addition to capital investments reaching over PhP10 billion to date for the upgrade of LRT-1, private operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) today announced that it has signed a PhP650-million agreement with First Balfour, Inc. and MRail, Inc. for the rehabilitation of  11 rectifier substations along the 21-kilometer line.

“As they power our trains, the substations are absolutely critical to providing reliable electricity supply and efficient operations of trains,” said LRMC President and CEO Juan F. Alfonso.

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)

The rehabilitation of the substations will take two years to complete and involves the replacement of major substation equipment such as the critical switchgears, rectifiers, transformer, cables, the enhancement of the supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) which allows the real-time monitoring of faults at the substations, and the modernization of fire detection and suppression systems.

“Some of these substations are 30 years old and need to be modernized to ensure reliability and efficiency of electric supply to our trains,” Alfonso added. “They also allow us to use newer, more sustainable technology to support our commitments to the environment as part of our ISO 45000 certification.”

The project is part of the ongoing LRT-1 system improvements which include the rehabilitation of trains, renovation of the 20 stations, as well as the structural enhancements of the parapets.

The upgrade has increased the number of trains from 77 to 112 in its first three years, enabling LRMC to increase the number of trips and accommodate more passengers. In August 2018, monthly ridership on LRT-1 hit a record high of 14 million.

Following its programmed improvements of the tracks, trains and the 20 stations of Metro Manila’s oldest railway, private operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) disclosed today that it has posted a record monthly ridership last August with 14.6 million passengers, the highest since the LRMC assumed operations of LRT-1 in 2015.

Passenger volume grew 8% from 13,454,019 passengers to 14,633,544 passengers in the same month last year which LRMC attributes to the increased number of trains and reduced waiting time of passengers.

“The ridership growth is a manifestation of stronger customer preference for LRT-1 over other modes of transportation,” according to LRMC President and CEO Juan F. Alfonso. “It is a significant achievement for our employees who have focused on increasing the number of trains and trips, reducing queueing time and travel time, as well as improving the safety, security and cleanliness of the stations.”

The train rehabilitation program has enabled the company to increase the number of train cars by 45 percent, from 77 in 2015, to 112 today. More train cars, in turn, meant more trips and shorter queueing time. From an average of 478 trips per day in 2016, we were able to reach 530 trips daily in 2017.

“This is the privatization effect,” Alfonso said. “With over PhP10.5 billion invested in capital projects to date, we were able to improve the safety, security and cleanliness of the stations as well as provide more trains, more trips, extended operating hours, less waiting time, more passengers, much improved customer satisfaction and the achievement of ISO certifications for quality management and environmental management – all unprecedented milestones in the 34-year history of Manila’s oldest light rail system.”

A study released by Kantar TNS and Phar early this year also showed improved customer experience on LRT-1. In the 2018 customer preference study, customers have rated LRT-1 performance to have improved over the last two years, which translated to their preference of LRT-1 over other modes of transportation from 47 percent to a very strong 62 percent.

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). It assumed operations and maintenance of LRT-1 in September 2015 through a PhP 65-billion 32-year concession agreement with the Department of Transportation and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA).

MANILA, Philippines, 18 June 2018 – From increasing the number of trains and trips to reducing waiting time on the platform, private rail operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) continues with its improvements on LRT-1, even harnessing Filipino talents for more solutions towards a “biyaheng better everyday.”

LRMC today launched Hackatren, which aims to crowdsource for IT applications that will help in further improving customer experience on LRT-1

“LRMC believes in the Filipino talent,” LRMC President and CEO Juan Alfonso said. “With Hackatren, we will showcase the IT programming skills of Filipinos. It will also be a platform for them to contribute to the uplift of rail transport standards in Metro Manila.”

Hackatren is open to all Filipinos who are 18 years old and above, with a knack for programming, designing, and coding. Interested applicants must form a team of three to four members, of which one is the designer or architect, and the rest are coders.

Registration is open from June 11 to June 30, 2018. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to the Hackatren pre-hack day on June 30, where IT experts and mentors from LRMC will orient the participants in preparation for the main Hackatren event. Qualified teams will move on to the Hackatren event on July 14-15, 2018.

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). It assumed operations and maintenance of LRT-1 in September 2015 through a 32-year concession agreement with the Department of Transportation and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA).

Since 2015, LRMC has spent P8 billion to date in accelerating improvements on Southeast Asia’s oldest railway system. The projects include the replacement of the 26-kilometer rails and parapets, the light rail vehicle (LRV) rehabilitation program and station improvement. It has also introduced and developed IT solutions that streamlined business processes which contributed to increased average daily trips by 9.7% from 505 trips in 2016 to 554 trips in 2017, and zero failure notice on train availability, punctuality and reliability in the first quarter of 2018.

Information about Hackatren are available on LRMC’s @offiialLRT1 accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

MANILA, Philippines – In celebration of Independence Day, LRT-1 operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) today announced that LRT-1 rides from 7:00AM to 9:00AM and 5:00PM to 7:00PM on Tuesday, June 12 will be free.

During these periods, passengers will be directed to the usual Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS) gates where they will use either Single Journey Tickets (SJTs) or Standard Stored Value Cards (SVCs) without charge to existing purse load.

Meanwhile, ticket vending machines (TVMs) will be in full service mode during the free ride periods, but will only process SVC initial purchase and top-up transactions. Station operations and security personnel on-duty will be present to assist passengers at TVM stations during the peak hour free ride periods.

LRT-1 trains are operational from 4:30AM, while the last northbound trip from Baclaran will leave at 9:30PM and the last southbound trip from Roosevelt at 9:45PM.

Engineering Director Wencelso Villavicencio explaining to Tokyo Metro International Relations Department Head Takihiro Tanisaka and Rolling Stock Department Manager Tomohisa Ogino the improvements done in LRT-1 since LRMC took over in 2015

30 May 2018, MANILA, Philippines – Officials of Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd., operator of one of the world-class and busiest trains in the world, has lauded Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) for “doing well to improve and maintain one of Metro Manila’s major transport, LRT-1.”

“We clearly see why LRT-1 has improved so much in such a short period of time, and under the stewardship of this present team, we believe things will only get better for LRT-1,” Takahiro Tanisaka, Senior Manager for International Relations of Tokyo Metro shared following a site tour of the LRT-1 system. He added: “From what we observed, the men and women that presently run the company are competent and well-trained employees, and we admire their spirit and enthusiasm in the pursuit of Biyaheng Better Everyday.”

Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd., a stock company under privatization currently owned by the Japanese government and the Tokyo metropolitan government, operates Tokyo Metro, a rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the busiest metro transit in the world with an average daily ridership of 7.42 million passengers.

Since assuming operations in 2015, LRMC has embarked on significant improvements amounting to P7.5 billion, including replacement of 26 kilometers of rails, station improvement, and rehabilitation of trains. These improvements have resulted in increased train availability at 109 cars as of end-March 2018 vs 100 in March 2017, more trips from 505 in March 2017 to 554 trips in March 2018, zero failure notice on train availability, punctuality and reliability KPIs. Daily average passenger volume increased four percent year on year in Q1 daily ridership to 459,400 passengers.

• Travel time with the LRT-1 Cavite Extension:
o  Baclaran to Sucat – 15 mins
o  Baclaran to Las Pinas – 20 mins
o  Baclaran to Bacoor – 30 mins

• Q1 highlights
o  Total capital investment including concession payments to date: P7.5 billion
o  Train availability at 109 cars as of end-March 2018 vs 100 in March 2017
o  Q1 daily ridership increased 459,400 or 4% year on year
o  Average daily trips increased 9.7% from 505 to 554 trips
o  Zero failure notice on train availability, punctuality and reliability KPIs

22 May 2018, Manila, PHILIPPINES — Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), private operator of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) today reiterated the urgency of the Cavite Extension as the solution for decongesting Metro Manila traffic and improving the quality of life of residents in the three cities south of Manila.

“Land travel time from Baclaran to Bacoor is currently at one and a half hours a day, during rush hour on the average; we can bring that down to only 30 minutes,” LRMC President Juan F. Alfonso exclaimed. “From Baclaran to Sucat, it will be only 15 minutes; Baclaran to Zapote, 20 minutes.”

This project, he said, can save passengers around three hours of travel time per day, which means being able to sleep longer and having more time to spend with the family.

“You don’t have to wake up at 3am or 4am to be in Manila for work because you know the train will be there every three and a half minutes or so and that travel time is very predictable, is traffic-free,” he added.

Right now, he said the almost 500,000 daily LRT-1 passengers travelling between Baclaran and Monumento in Caloocan City know what it is like not to be caught in traffic, being home early and sleeping enough because it takes only 35 minutes to traverse this 14-kilometer stretch.

“And they pay P30.00, which is comparable to a bus fare. We are still investing billions of pesos to further improve our service.”

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)

The Cavite Extension, totaling 11.7km in length, shall consist of elevated guideways throughout the majority of the alignment. The only at grade guideway section shall be located at Zapote, consisting of the Satellite Depot and New Station.

The Cavite Extension shall connect to the existing Baclaran Station. It will have eight new Stations namely, Redemptorist, NAIA Avenue, Asia World; Ninoy Aquino; Dr Santos; Las Pinas; Zapote; and Niog. Dr Santos, Zapote, and Niog Stations shall provide transfers to other modes transportation.

Alfonso also reported that since assuming operations and maintenance of LRT-1 in September 2015, LRMC has already invested P7.5 billion towards the improvement of operational efficiencies and customer experience on LRT-1. “We have significantly increased the number of trains and trips, reduced queueing time and travel time, as well as improved the safety, security and cleanliness of the stations.”

LRT-1 fleet was at 109 cars as of March 2018, which is expected to increase to 121 cars by yearend. The increased number of train cars has resulted in the 9.7 percent increase in average daily trips from 505 to 554 trips daily. Average daily ridership in Q1 was at 459,400 or four percent better over the same period last year.

LRMC reported zero failure notice on train availability, punctuality and reliability during the period.

PRSP recently conferred three Gold Anvils to LRMC at the 53rd Anvil Awards last March 26. In photo, left to right: PRSP President Jika Dalupan, Ex Officio Ramon Bong Osorio, Environmental and Systems Manager Louernie de Sales, Corporate Communications Head Rochelle Gamboa, HSEQ Director Val Reyes, Engineering Director Celso Villavicencio, General Counsel Philip Ranada and 53rd Anvil Awards Chairman Owen Cammayo.

MANILA, Philippines – The Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) recently recognized Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) for three of its stakeholder engagement programs at the 53rd Anvil Awards held March 26 at the Shangri-La at the Fort.

The company’s Themed Trains campaign for customers, Live for the Rivers Movement Coalition for its communities and 30 on 30: Biyaheng Better Everyday to Global Standards each received a Gold Anvil, which is conferred for public relations programs that have achieved excellent ratings from a jury led by former Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.

“We would like to thank the Anvil Awards for yet again recognizing our efforts to achieve biyaheng better everyday for our passengers and improve quality of life of our neighboring communities,” LRMC President and CEO Juan F. Alfonso shared. “These awards are proof of our continued efforts to deliver better value.”

The top winning program of LRMC was for the design of LRT-1 trains in observance of different holidays and celebrations in the country. The Themed Trains campaign contributed to improved customer satisfaction on LRT-1, manifested in the 25% increase in positive feedback and 296% media coverage for LRT-1 in 2017.

The company’s 30 on 30: Biyaheng Better Everyday to Global Standards campaign used 30 items that transformed employees into champions of environmental management and quality management systems in 30 days. In September 2017, LRMC simultaneously achieved its certifications for ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015. “The internal communications program proved successful as all employees gamely participated and have made ISO part of their work ethic,” Alfonso said. “They continue to have the mindset and perform behaviors required to achieve and sustain the ISO certifications.”

Live for the Rivers Movement Coalition was started in 2016 as a cleanup activity along Estero de Tripa de Gallina (ETG), Metro Manila’s longest creek, and sustained in 2017 with a social enterprise program for three barangays in Pasay City. LRMC and its partner organizations taught the community to develop natural cleaning materials such as vetiver pontoons and bokashi balls. The finished products from the training session were used in the actual ETG clean up on September 16, 2017.

Anvil Awards, which is annually organized by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, is the highest recognition for public relations tools and programs in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – In celebration of the Women Disability Month, LRT-1 operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) today announced that all women with disabilities will be entitled to free rides at LRT-1 all day on Monday, March 26.

The free rides will be implemented in all 20 stations of LRT-1 from Baclaran in Paranaque City to Roosevelt in Quezon City, with the first trips leaving the stations at 4:30AM, while the last northbound trip from Baclaran will leave at 10:00 p.m. and the last southbound trip from Roosevelt at 10:15 p.m.

To avail of the free rides, female PWDs will be asked to present either their Person with Disability (PWD) ID or any valid government ID to the tellers on duty. They will then be directed to the designated service gate.

This special treat to female PWDs is courtesy of LRMC, in cooperation with the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), which is celebrating its 14^th Women with Disabilities Day with the theme #ProgressToSuccess: Babaeng Maykapansanan sa Pagbabago Manguna at Manindigan Ka campaign this year.