MANILA, Philippines – The Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) will only run trips from the Gil Puyat to Fernando Poe Jr. (formerly Roosevelt) stations from Friday, August 25, to Sunday, August 27.

This comes after a Generation 2 train encountered a “mechanical problem” while traveling between EDSA Station and Baclaran Station at 12:32 pm on Thursday, August 24. Passengers of the affected train were safely evacuated.

Since then, operations have been limited between Gil Puyat Station and Fernando Poe Jr. Station. There will be no trains running from Libertad Station to Baclaran Station.

For southbound travelers, the route runs from Fernando Poe Jr. Station to Vito Cruz Station only.

Travelers going north can ride from Gil Puyat Station until Fernando Poe Jr. Station.

“Based on the assessment, the incident affected a portion of LRT1 tracks requiring the LRMC Engineering team to perform additional trackworks for the next three days to ensure that the LRT1 system remains safe for our passengers,” Light Rail Manila Corporation said in a statement.

“Hopefully we can accelerate and operate sooner than three days. We will keep the team posted. But so far, three full days [is the] estimate,” an LRMC representative told Rappler.

Meanwhile, to help commuters whose routes may have been disrupted, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is implementing “bus augmentation” from Gil Puyat in Pasay City up to EDSA and Taft.

A total of five buses that currently ply the Malanday-Ayala route via MacArthur Highway, Rizal Avenue, Taft Avenue, and Gil Puyat (Buendia) Avenue have been temporarily allowed to extend their route to reach Heritage Hotel near EDSA and Taft.

The arrangement started on Friday and will last until the normal operations of the LRT1 are restored.

The partial closure is set right before a long weekend that also happens to be the last one before classes in all public schools begin on Tuesday, August 29. Meanwhile, as part of its Oplan Biyaheng Ayos: Balik Eskwela 2023, the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 is on heightened alert until September 1 in anticipation of the increase in passengers.

The LRT1 recently hiked fares on August 2, citing ballooning deficits. – Rappler.com