The Light Rail Transit System Line No. 1 consists of the 15 km elevated railway system servicing the Taft Avenue - Rizal Avenue route between Baclaran, Pasay City and the Bonifacio Monument in the City of Caloocan.  It is considered to be the first LRT system in Southeast Asia.

Actual construction in Manila started in September 1981 at Taft Avenue between EDSA and Libertad.  By the end of 1983, the construction had risen out of the streets over most of the route; and the shape of the new transit facility was taking shape for all to see.  The first Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) arrived in Manila in November 1982 and construction of the Pasay Depot became the most vital task of the whole project.

Power was turned on in the Depot and became operational in December 1983.  The LRVs began trial runs on the Taft Line in March 1984 and by September 1984 the Taft Line gave the public a view of what was to come by providing free public passenger rides for a one week period.

After September, there was a strong coordinated effort to finish all the remaining Taft Line work and finally, on December 1, 1984, the Taft Line was officially opened to public service.

Work on the Pasig River Bridge started in November 1984 with the super-structure floated out and put into place.  By the end of January 1985, the bridge was completed and track laid across to join up with the track on the other side.

Previous to this, there had already been a major effort on the Rizal Line side, and with the Pasig River Bridge complete, speed trials began in February 1985.  By April 1985, passenger service was extended into Carriedo, the downtown station, and one month later, on May 12, 1985, the Rizal Line was put into service.

To operate the System, a contract was entered into between the LRTA and a specially created new company METRO  INC. - a wholly owned subsidiary of the Manila Electric Company.  METRO's task would be to acquire the know-how of the new technology and develop an efficient, well-trained organization to operate the System and manage its day to day affairs and be responsible for all technical matters in the future.

The LRTA took over all System operations after the rank-and-file employees of METRO INC. staged a wildcat strike, destroyed some of LRTA's properties and paralyzed the entire operation of LRT Line 1 system from July 25 to August 2 of 2000.  In view of the adverse consequences brought about by the said strike on the financial position of LRTA and on the efficient provision of LRT services to the public, the LRTA decided not to renew the 16-year Operating and Maintenance Agreement with METRO, Inc. which coincidentally expired on July 31, 2000.

n Service Route

Line 1 has a length of about 15 km and runs from Baclaran in Pasay City to Monumento in Caloocan City.  Pasay City lies in the south-west section of Metro Manila, close to the airport.  From there, the line runs in a north-western direction, parallel to the Bay but at some distance from it along Taft Avenue to the Manila City Hall, where the central terminal is located, then through Arroceros Street, across the Pasig River, entering the Santa Cruz district at Feati University.  From there, it follows Rizal Avenue and Rizal Avenue Extension in a northerly direction to the terminal at Monumento in Caloocan City.