LIGHT Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), operator of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT- 1), said on Wednesday that it is on track to complete the civil and system works of the Cavite Extension Phase 1 next year.
“The LRT-1 Cavite Extension is now taking shape. We are confident that once this extension is operational, it will help in significantly improving the train system in our country providing a more efficient and reliable transportation option,” LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Juan F. Alfonso said in a statement.
The first phase of the Cavite Extension is scheduled to be completed by the last quarter of 2024, while the last two sections of the Cavite line extension are slated to be finished by 2027.
The company said that it has completed the first test run on Phase 1 of the Cavite Extension, which is at a 95% progress rate as of the end of October.
Aside from the train test runs, LRMC mentioned that the five new stations within the 6.7-kilometer Phase 1 project are now in different stages of development.
“As we near the completion of this much-awaited railway project, the general public will begin to see more trains undergoing test runs and trial runs,” Mr. Alfonso said.
The company mentioned that it is also planning to conduct more train test runs in the coming weeks, which will include other train generators running at various speeds and load capacities.
LRMC is the joint venture of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd. Metro Pacific Light Rail is a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT Inc. and Philex Mining Corp.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose