LRT 2’s East Extension Opening Postponed Once Again

The opening of the Marikina and Antipolo stations, which are part of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT 2) East Extension, has been moved once again as the project remains unfinished.

On Monday, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) announced that the inauguration for the new stations will take place on July 5 followed by their opening on July 6.

Originally, the completion and opening of the two stations were eyed for April 26, which was later postponed to June 23 as the global pandemic continued to cause disruptions to the project’s construction.

This rescheduling is essential, said LRTA Administrator Reynaldo Berroya, “to give maximum time for the contractor to complete the signaling migration and integration works, and other preparatory activities.”

“The signaling system is vital in railway operations to ensure a safe and smooth train and traffic movement, controlled speed, accurate platform position, safe distance between trains, automatic stop in cases of technical breakdown, and is designed in accordance with railway fail-safe principles,” explained the LRTA.

An agreement between the LRTA and the Marubeni-DMCI Consortium, the contractor of the extension project, eventually agreed to the new timeline on June 19 after calling for an emergency meeting. This was later approved by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The Marikina station will be located within the vicinity of Robinsons Metro East and Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall. The Antipolo station, on the other hand, will be situated near SM City Masinag.

LRT 2’s railway is already 13.8 kilometers long spanning from Santolan to Recto. The addition of these two stations will add another 4 kilometers to the line.

Source: Rappler