Opening of LRT2 Marikina, Antipolo stations delayed again to July 6

The opening of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT2) East Extension was again postponed, as work on the project has yet to be completed.

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) announced in a statement on Monday, June 21, that the new date for the inauguration is July 5, while the opening of the Marikina and Antipolo stations will follow on July 6.

In 2021, the opening of the LRT2 East Extension had been set for April 26, then initially rescheduled to June 23, as coronavirus restrictions hampered construction.

LRTA Administrator Reynaldo Berroya said the new postponement is necessary “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,” the LRTA said.

The LRTA and the contractor, the Marubeni-DMCI Consortium, agreed to delay the opening after an emergency meeting last Saturday, June 19. This was approved by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The LRT2 East Extension will add 4 kilometers to the existing 13.8-kilometer railway from Santolan to Recto. The Marikina station is located near Robinsons Metro East and Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall, while the Antipolo station is near SM City Masinag.

The DOTr earlier said travel time from Recto in Manila to Antipolo City in Rizal would be cut to 40 minutes, from up to 3 hours by bus or jeepney.

LRT2 shutdown for two weekends

Meanwhile, the existing LRT2 line from Santolan to Recto and vice versa will resume full operations on Wednesday, June 23.

The railway has been implementing partial operations since June 12, only running from Araneta Center-Cubao to Recto and vice versa, in preparation for the East Extension opening.

But the LRTA also announced on Monday that the Santolan to Recto operations would have to be suspended for two straight weekends – from June 26 to 27 and from July 3 to 4.

This is to give way for the integration of the signaling system of the Marikina and Antipolo stations to the existing system.

The National Economic and Development Authority Board had approved the LRT2 East Extension back in September 2012. Construction of the elevated viaduct started in 2015, while the groundbreaking for the two new stations was held in May 2017.

During the May 2017 groundbreaking, the government targeted starting operations in the first quarter of 2019. The project, however, was met with delays. – Rappler.com