PHILIPPINES: Passenger services on the Manila LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Phase 1 began on November 16, following an official inauguration by President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr the previous day.
‘This extension will greatly reduce travel time, giving commuters the gift of more moments spent with their loved ones’, said the President. ‘We are committed to building station after station, reaching as far and as fast as our people’s needs dictate.’
The opening of the 6·4 km elevated extension south from Baclaran to Dr Santos (previously to be called Sucat) is predicted to add an additional 80 000 passengers to LRT1’s daily ridership of 323 000. The five stations have been designed for accessibility, with lifts, escalators and tactile guides.
Construction
The extension was built by a consortium of civil works contractor Bouygues Travaux Publics and railway systems supplier Alstom under a €450m contract awarded by operating concessionaire Light Rail Manila Corp in 2016.
Alstom said this was its first fully integrated metro project in the Philippines, including design, supply and commissioning of electromechanical systems including ETCS Level 1, telecoms, track, power supplies and overhead electrification.
‘By providing a faster and more efficient alternative to road travel, this project not only improves connectivity across the city but also supports sustainable and reliable public transportation options’, said Toby Tiberghien, Managing Director of Alstom East Asia.
In 2022 Alstom completed renewal of the signalling on the then 20 km LRT1 using its Atlas 100 train control technology, and equipped the line’s fleet of 60 trains from four generations with new onboard equipment.
Phase 2
The Cavite Extension Phase 2 will take the line a further 6 km and three stations south to Niog in Bacoor. This will reduce the journey time between Baclaran and Bacoor from 70 to 25 min.
The northern end of LRT1 is also being extended from Fernando Poe Jr (formerly Roosevelt) to North Avenue as part of the Common Station project to create a metro hub in the north of Manila.
