The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) will be
implementing its new operating hours for Lines 1 and 2 systems effective
September 15, 2010, to give way for a much-needed maintenance time for both
revenue lines.
LRTA Administrator Rafael S. Rodriguez announced
that the last commercial trip schedule will be cut by an hour (1) and an
hour and a half (1 1/2) for the Yellow Line (Line 1) and Purple Line (Line
2), respectively.
During weekdays, the last trip for Line 1 will leave the
Baclaran station en route to Balintawak at 9:30 P.M. while the last train
will depart the Balintawak station en route to Baclaran at 10:00 P.M.
On weekends and declared holidays, Line 1 last
commercial train going to Balintawak Station will leave at 9:00PM while the
last trip going to Baclaran is 9:30PM.
On the other hand, LRT-2 shall have the same schedule on
weekdays, weekends and holidays. The last commercial train will depart from
Santolan station at 9:30 P.M. while the last trip from Recto station will
depart at 10:00 P.M.
Rodriguez said the implementation on reduction of
operating hours is for the maintenance works which will cover the rolling
stocks, catenaries, stations, carriageways, signaling system and other
physical facilities.
He added that the additional hour will give enough time
for our maintenance and engineering people to finish all its routine
preventive check-ups for the rolling stocks, including the sanitation works
for all stations and inside the trains.
"We need a longer maintenance time to make sure that the
trains are in optimal working conditions and that the stations are cleaned
and sanitized to ensure the safety and convenience of the riding public," he
added.
On March 4, 2010, the Authority extended its operation
due to the demand of passengers mostly employed in malls. However, Line 1
has only a monthly average ridership of 31, 847 while line 2 has only an
average of 26, 501.