More coaches for LRT Line 1

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) has recently increased the number of coaches of LRT Line 1 that plies the Baclaran to Monumento route.

This is expected to make travel easier for commuters and increase the agency’s revenues, especially during the holidays.

In a statement, LRTA Administrator Melquiades Robles said the LRTA is now deploying eight additional coaches to ease congestion during the busiest season in the country.

This will bring to 81 the total number of coaches plying the route from the original 73.

The two four-coach trains are part of the 12 new Third Generation (3-G) trains inaugurated last weekend by President Arroyo and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"We get a lot of complaints of overcrowding in the trains during the holiday season. We hope to ease this with the new trains," Robles said.

On average, LRT Line 1 ferries some 375,000 passengers a day, but the number increases as the holiday approaches and as additional trains are commissioned for revenue operations. — Sandy Araneta