Shorter rehab period for LRT-2 seen

LRTA earlier said the Anonas, Katipunan, and Santolan stations will be out of commission for about nine months due to severe damage to the rectifiers following the fire that caused its shutdown last week.(File Photo: Light Rail Transit Authority – LRT2/Facebook)

MANILA — Senator Grace Poe on Friday said she is expecting the operations of the Light Rail Transit 2 (LRT-2) to normalize earlier than nine months.

Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) is doing a thorough check to rehabilitate the damaged substations.

Poe cited LRTA deputy for operations and engineering Paul Chua, who said during the committee’s technical working group (TWG) meeting that a shorter rehabilitation period for the three substations damaged by fire is expected after the Bureau of Fire Protection has allowed LRTA to open up the damaged rectifiers for the actual assessment.

“Since we were just allowed yesterday afternoon to open the rectifiers for actual assessment of the damage, we can only build the actual damage scenario probably in two days’ time,” Chua said.

LRTA earlier said the Anonas, Katipunan, and Santolan stations will be out of commission for about nine months due to severe damage to the rectifiers following the fire that caused its shutdown last week.

Chua said the management will submit to the committee a report on the extent of damage incurred by the substations, the number of materials to be replaced and a concrete timeline when LRTA can resume operations from Anonas all the way to Santolan.

Poe vowed that her committee would keep a close watch on the LRT’s rehabilitation.

“Beyond this, we will expect a more comprehensive plan on how to improve service and expand capacity. Our train riders deserve better,” Poe said.