3 LRT-2 stations offline for 9 months after fire

MANILA, Philippines — Three Light Rail Transit Line 2 train stations will be out of service for nine months following a fire that stopped the operations of the rail system that services at least 200,000 passengers daily.

The Light Rail Transit Authority, which operates LRT-2, announced on Friday that there will be no train operations in Santolan, Katipunan and Anonas stations for the next nine months.

The train management said it will be able to resume partial operations—only from Cubao to Recto station—by next week.

“The damage is massive. The damaged parts are really big parts that are imported… We need  to import these parts,” LRTA was quoted in a tweet report of The STAR.

“Malaki ‘yung damage. ‘Yung na-damage na parts are really big parts na imported po sila… Kailangan po natin na mag-import pa,” LRTA said.

— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) October 4, 2019

Shortly before noon on Thursday, the rectifier-transformer located between LRT-2’s Katipunan and Anonas stations tripped and caught fire. The incident prompted a temporary shutdown of train services.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is offering free bus rides to commuters affected by the temporary shutdown of LRT-2. The buses will shuttle passengers from the Santolan footbridge to the Cubao area.

The 16.75-kilometer line that serves 11 stations started its operations in 2003. It is the only train system in Metro Manila that runs in an east-west direction.

LRT-2’s western terminus is Recto station in Manila, while its eastern terminus is Santolan station in Pasig. — Gaea Katreena Cabico with a report from The STAR