Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Roosevelt Station will be closed from September 5 to December 28 this year, private operator Light Rail Manila Corporation announced on Thursday, August 6.

According to LRMC, the temporarily closure was to accommodate the construction of the common station for the LRT1 and Metro Rail Transit Lines 3 and 7, also known as the “Unified Grand Central Station.”

LRMC Chief Operating Officer Enrico Benipayo said Thursday that LRT1 will be operational from Baclaran to Balintawak during the 3-month period.

The LRT1 operator initially planned to provide a shuttle train for passengers, but the idea was scrapped “due to existing circumstances brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

When Metro Manila was under general community quarantine, LRT1 was allowed to carry only 158 passengers per trip or 12% of its full capacity.

Earlier this year, Railways Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said the department was eyeing completion by first quarter of 2021. There would be 3 areas – Area A (facing EDSA, LRT1), Area B (linking Areas A and C), and Area C (MRT7 platform).

Area B was already completed by Ayala-affiliate North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation, while Areas A and C are ongoing separate construction.

Contract for Area A was awarded to BF Corporation-Foresight Development and Surveying Company Consortium. San Miguel Corporation, meanwhile, was building Area C which forms part of the MRT7 platform.

The construction of the common station had begun in 2017, after being delayed for 10 years as conglomerates fought over the location of the terminal.

The common station, expected to serve around 500,000 passengers daily, would provide commuters seamless transfer from one railway line to another.  – Rappler.com