Thousands of commuters braved the Monday traffic in Metro Manila as operation of the Light Rail Transit-Line 2 (LRT-2) remains suspended pending completion of safety checks and fine-tuning on trains, days after the entire line was shut down.
Lawyer Hernando Cabrera, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) spokesperson, said they continue to conduct simulation run and fine-tuning on LRT-2’s telecommunication system on Monday.
Cabrera said they are targeting to resume LRT-2 operations partially from Cubao to Recto stations today, Tuesday, once the signalling, telecommunications and power supply systems and the trains are cleared and in normal condition.
The LRTA earlier announced that operation of Santolan, Katipunan and Anonas stations will still be out of service for a maximum of nine months to undergo extensive repair and rehabilitation.
For his part, LRTA administrator Reynaldo Berroya explained that they cannot compromise the safety of the passengers as it is “paramount in the delivery of mass rail transit service.”
“We cannot compromise the safety of everyone so we need to thoroughly check the integrity and stability of LRT-2 stuctures and equipment before we resume operations,” Berroya said in a statement.
On Thursday last week, the line’s operation was shut down when power rectifiers between Anonas and Katipunan stations and at Santolan depot were severely damaged after it tripped and caught fire.
Due to the incident, the LRTA suspended the entire LRT-2 operations, which continued until Monday, forcing thousands of passengers to find alternative modes of transportation in the already congested Metro Manila. (Alexandria San Juan)
