Travel time from Recto in Manila to Masinag in Antipolo will soon be reduced to 40 minutes from the usual three hours or more by bus or jeepney as construction of two more stations for the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) goes underway.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) on May 30 led the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Masinag and Emerald stations of the LRT-2 East Extension Project.
The LRT- 2 East Extension is set to operate in the first quarter of 2019.
“It will be a timely addition to have both new stations in the LRT Line 2 as we acknowledge the need for greater accessibility of passengers coming from the eastern side of Metro Manila, extending to key areas of Antipolo and its nearby cities,” DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a statement.
“This increased capacity of 80,000 daily ridership of the rail line will not only provide a means to decongest our roads, but more importantly offer better riding options to our daily commuters. As we improve the public’s general mobility, we also unburden them [of] traffic worries,” Tugade added.
The additional two stations are designed to accommodate an additional 80,000 passengers daily during its first five years of operation, augmenting the current LRT-2’s average daily ridership of 240,000.
The LRT-2 East Extension Project is proof that the government takes traffic woes seriously, according to LRTA Administrator Reynaldo Berroya.
“The completion of the LRT Line 2 East Extension Project is part of the fulfillment of the government’s promise to ease traffic congestion by extending the service of the LRT- Line 2 System to the eastern part of Metro Manila,” he said.
The project involves the construction of a 4-kilometer extension for the existing LRT-2 system from Santolan, Pasig City to Masinag in Antipolo. Rizal. Two additional stations will be built—the Emerald station will be located in front of Robinsons Metro East and Sta. Lucia in Cainta, Rizal, while the Masinag station will be located in front of the Masinag Junction in Antipolo City.
Construction company D.M. Consunji, Inc. bagged the contract for the two stations and is set to start construction on June 6, targeting a completion date of August 2018.
Tugade asked for the public’s understanding as the construction project is expected to affect traffic flow in the area. A traffic management plan released by DOTr detailing the list of alternative routes motorists may take can be consulted by those wishing to avoid the construction site. The plan has been uploaded to the official social media accounts of DOTr, LRTA, and other partner agencies.
