LRT, MRT to close for Holy Week

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila’s three elevated railways will be closed during the Holy Week for maintenance work.

Light Rail Transit Line 1 operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) said the LRT-1 would be closed from Maundy Thursday until Easter Sunday.

The shutdown would pave the way for comprehensive maintenance works on the trains and system facilities, LRMC said in a statement yesterday.

“The public is advised to plan ahead and take alternative transportation during this period. Normal operations in LRT-1 will resume on April 2 at 4:30 a.m.,” LRMC said.

LRT-1, which spans Roosevelt station in Quezon City to Baclaran station, serves around 400,000 to 500,000 commuters daily.

Earlier, the Light Rail Transit Authority said the LRT Line 2, which covers Santolan station in Pasig City until Recto station in Manila, would be closed from March 29 or Maundy Thursday until April 1 or Easter Sunday.

The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), which runs along EDSA from Pasay to Quezon City, will also suspend operations from Holy Wednesday until Easter Sunday.

MRT-3 train breaks down

Just as the MRT-3 started operating with 12 trains, one of its trains broke down Sunday night.

A train bound for Taft Avenue station offloaded 600 passengers at the Ortigas station at around 6:49 p.m. last Sunday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said yesterday.

The affected passengers rode another train that came six minutes later.

The DOTr said an error in the automated train protection or signaling system, caused by “worn-out ATP or signaling sub-components,” was to blame for the breakdown.

The ATP is the system responsible for controlling the trains’ speed.

The MRT-3 started to operate with 12 trains running starting at around 6 a.m. Sunday, MRT-3 operations director Michael Capati announced to reporters.

Due to the breakdown, only 11 MRT-3 trains were operational starting at 7 p.m. Sunday.

The last time the MRT-3 had 12 running trains was on Jan. 26, or 51 days ago.

The DOTr plans to make 15 trains operational after the Holy Week. – Ghio Ong