LRT-1 to operate half-day on Aug. 20 for signal system upgrading

MANILA – The Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) will be closed on Sunday morning (August 20) and will instead open at noon to make way for a signaling system upgrade.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), the operator and maintenance provider of the LRT-1, advised passengers to plan their trips ahead of time in consideration of the temporary suspension of operations.

"The first train from both LRT-1 Baclaran and Roosevelt Stations will depart at 12 p.m., while there will be no changes in the last train schedule (9:30 p.m. from LRT-1 Baclaran Station, and 9:45 p.m. from LRT-1 Roosevelt Station)," LRMC said.

The half-day closure, it said, will allow for the installation of a new "software baseline" on the currently operating signaling system that would make it fully compatible with the LRT-1 Cavite Extension software baseline.

The LRMC will also facilitate the testing and commissioning of the system during the suspension period.

"Once successfully upgraded, this is expected to lead to the full cutover for the extended signaling system from the existing LRT-1 Roosevelt Station in Quezon City to Dr. Santos Station in Paranaque City, or the end station in the LRT-1 Cavite Extension – Phase 1," it said.

It noted that a signaling system is used to control and monitor the operation of its trains.

"We would like to ask for the kind understanding of our commuters as we implement these necessary activities for the continuous upgrade of our LRT-1 system. We aim to improve capacity and performance across the line, as well as enable more trains with better connections and greater reliability in anticipation of the much-awaited completion of Cavite Extension Phase 1," LRMC chief operating officer Rolando Paulino III said.

The scheduled upgrade comes after the migration of the LRT-1 to the Alstom signaling system in February last year that was meant to improve the total traffic control system of the LRT-1 and facilitate the testing, commissioning, and operation for revenue service of its new "Gen-4" trains.

As of July, the LRT-1 Cavite Extension – Phase 1 was at 90.1 percent complete. (PNA)