 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Main regions | Metro Manila,Calabarzon |
| Stations called at | 38 |
| Stations operated | 13 |
| Locale | Metro Manila,Rizal[a] |
| Dates of operation | December 1, 1984 (1984-12-01)–present |
| Other | |
| Company | |
Native name | Pangasiwaan ng Magaan na Riles Panlulan |
| Company type | Government-owned and controlled corporation |
| Industry | Public transport |
| Founded | July 12, 1980; 45 years ago (1980-07-12) |
| Headquarters | LRTA Compound, Line 2 Santolan Depot,Pasig,Philippines |
Area served | Metro Manila |
Key people | Hernando T. Cabrera, Administrator[1] |
| Services | Rail Service |
| Revenue | ₱1,564,306,670 (2019) |
| Total assets | ₱59,791,862,600 (2019) |
| Owner | Government of the Philippines, managed byDepartment of Transportation |
Number of employees | 1,159 of which 342 are permanent/regular employees, 480 contractual personnel and 337 contract of services employees (2019) |
| Website | www.lrta.gov.ph |
TheLight Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) is apublic transport operator that is responsible for the construction, operation, maintenance and/or lease ofManila Light Rail Transit System in thePhilippines. It is organized as agovernment-owned and controlled corporation under theDepartment of Transportation (DOTr) as an attached agency.
The results of a fourteen-month study conducted between 1976 and 1977 byFreeman Fox and Associates suggested astreet-levellight rail line in Manila. These proposals were revised by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, later theDepartment of Transportation (DOTr), to an elevated system in order to avoid building in the city's many intersections.[2]
On July 12, 1980, PresidentFerdinand Edralin Marcos created the Light Rail Transit Authority through Executive Order No. 603,[3] and assignedFirst Lady and Governor of Metro ManilaImelda Marcos as its chairman. While the LRTA confined its roles to policy making, fare regulation, and future planning,LRT Line 1's operations were assigned to Meralco Transit Organization (Metro, Inc.), a sister company ofMeralco. The line came to be referred to as Metrorail.[4]
Construction of Line 1 began in September 1981. The section from Baclaran to Central Terminal was opened on December 1, 1984, with all remaining stations opening on May 12, 1985.[5]
On August 1, 2000, LRTA assumed the operational responsibility after employees of METRO, Inc. hosted a wildcat strike that paralyzed the line's operations from July 25 to August 2, 2000.[4]
With Japan's ODA amounting to 75 billion yen in total, the construction ofLine 2 began in 1996, and the first section of the line, from Santolan to Araneta Center-Cubao, was opened on April 5, 2003.[5] The remaining stations opened exactly a year later, except forRecto station which opened on October 29, 2004.[6]
In January 2017, LRTA administratorReynaldo Berroya announced the plan to establish a railway school for LRTA employees. For this school, in May 2018, LRTA first launched atrain simulator purchased from Lander Simulations and Training Solutions, a company based in Spain.[7]
| Line 1 | Line 2 | Line 6(Proposed) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Light Rail Transit Authority[b] | Light Rail Transit Authority | TBA |
| Operations & Maintenance | Light Rail Manila Corporation | Light Rail Transit Authority | TBA |
The Board of Directors is composed of eight ex-officio cabinet members namely the secretary of theDOTr as chairman, the respective secretaries of theDPWH,DBM,DOF andNEDA, the chairman of theMMDA and theLTFRB and the administrator of the LRTA and one representative from the private sector.
The Board is tasked to issue, prescribe, and adopt policies, programs, plans, standards, guidelines, procedures, rules, and regulations for implementation, enforcement, and application by the LRTA Management. The Board also convenes to resolve operations-related issues and concerns and other matters requiring immediate attention and resolution.
During the presidency ofPres. Benigno Aquino III, on October 2, 2014, the Department of Transportation and Light Rail Transit Authority signed a 32-year concession agreement withLight Rail Manila Corporation, a private consortium composed ofAC Infra,Metro Pacific Light Rail Corporation andMacquarie Group for theLine 1 Operations & Maintenance, construction of the Cavite Extension and Capacity Expansion.[9]
Under the concession agreement, LRMC is responsible for the Operations & Maintenance ofLine 1 and construction of the Cavite Extension while LRTA is responsible for procuring120 newlight rail vehicles for the Capacity Expansion and acquisition of theRight-of-way for the Cavite Extension.
On 4 December 2019, a fact-finding committee was formed by then-administrator Gen. Reynaldo I. Berroya (Ret.) to review severalLRT Line 2 contracts.[10] On 21 January 2021, the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission found inconsistencies in the procurement of equipment worth up to₱170.3 million. The documents showed that re-railing and rolling stock diagnostic equipment for Line 2 were different from the specified brand in the bidding. The crate containing the re-railing equipment showed a sticker printout that it was shipped byChinese firmCRRC Corporation, as ordered by the joint venture of Kempal Construction and Supply Corporation. However, documents showed that it was manufactured by Bemco, anIndian company. Irregularities were also seen in the procurement of escalators delivered by Ma-an Construction Inc. and IFE Elevators Inc, wherein the capacity of the escalators were 6,000 persons per hour, short of the required 9,000 persons per hour capacity.[11] LRTA officials stated on 23 January that they will submit an initial report to the PACC.[12] On 7 December 2021, LRTA filed corruption cases against some LRTA and DBM officials.DOTr SecretaryArthur Tugade has then ordered the review of other LRT-2 rehabilitation projects and blacklisting of the joint venture of Ma-an Construction Inc. and IFE Elevators Inc.[10][13][14] The escalators and elevators were later fixed by January 2022 as one of the priority projects of the agency.[15]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)