Thomasian commuters lamented the additional struggle in their daily commute brought about by the disruption of Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 operation.

In a number of interviews with TomasinoWeb, students of the University expressed their dismay in the said incident and hope for the immediate resumption of  normal LRT-2 service.

“[S]ana matupad talaga yang six to nine months na sinasabi niyo kasi umaasa lahat ng tao dyan,” Arabelle Bayron, a student from the Faculty of Arts and Letters, said regarding the time frame allotted for the LRT-2 to fully operate again.

“[3:15 a.m.] ako gumising para iwasan yung traffic tapos mga 5 a.m. ang traffic na sa Cubao. [Madami] na [ang] students [na] nag-aabang,” she added.

Allaine Chua, also a student from the Faculty of Arts and Letters, also shared the same sentiments, “Ang laking problem [na] na-idulot nitong unforeseen event. Pero dapat kahit unforeseen siya, dapat may solution agad ang government.”

Despite not riding the LRT-2 frequently, Karlo Bernabe of AMV-College of Accountancy also expressed the struggle brought by the disruption of LRT-2 service to other commuters. 

“Yung mga nagl-LRT na tiga-Pasig, nasakay na ng mga bus, UV at jeepneys. Ramdam ko na mas nahirapan ako makasakay ng UV pauwi at nadagdagan ang aking travel ng halos isang oras,” said Bernabe.

In an interview with TomasinoWeb, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) spokesperson Hernando Cabrera said that LRTA already had a contingency plan which is spare parts stocking. But despite having spare parts, they are not enough.

“Not only the commuters are affected by this transportation crisis. Even the stalls outside Santolan station are hugely affected since there are no more passengers going in and out of the station. They closed their stalls completely,” Chua added.

“[They] will have to bear their own respective losses. It is a risk they took. It is part of business risk,” Cabrera said when asked about the business stalls.

Despite the exasperation of the commuters, some also praised the free rides provided by the LRTA and other transportation companies.

“Kudos to the LRTA for giving free rides sa mga pasahero habang di pa nag-ooperate yung tatlong stations. […] Sana after magawa ma-maintain na nang maayos lahat to avoid problems kagaya nito and sana makagawa na talaga ng improvements sa transportation system natin,” said Kylie Vergara, a student also from the Faculty of Arts and Letters.

LRT-2 starts partial operation from Cubao to Recto

Partial operation of LRT-2 from Cubao to Recto and vice versa already resumed early today, October 8.

“We have resumed partial operations [from] Cubao to Recto by managing train speed and distribution in the line,” Cabrera said.

This is following the suspension of the LRT-2 operation last Thursday when two rectifiers in Katipunan and Anonas stations caught fire. LRTA said that the incident is “still under investigation.”

Continuous train travel and operation simulations were conducted from Saturday to Monday, according to Cabrera, in order to ensure safe and convenient rides for the LRT-2 passengers.

“Our primary focus and consideration is safety,” he added.

To ease the strain of daily commuters, LRTA provided free rides and asked Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to give special permits to 40 units of modernized public utility vehicles (PUVs), around 89 buses, and to deploy point-to-point (P2P) buses: Masinag to Legarda, Emerald to Legarda, Santolan to Legarda, and Anonas to Legarda.

Motorcycle ride-hailing company Angkas also provided free rides from Santolan to Recto and vice versa, from Tuesday to Thursday, at 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Victory Liner bus company also announced yesterday that their buses are available from Santolan to Cubao and vice versa, at 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m, with the same LRT-2 fare rate.

Repairs to take 9 months

Cabrera said nine months is a ballpark estimate, “not set in stone,” necessary to replace and restore the full operational conditions of the damaged rectifiers.

“We are looking into other angles [on] how to shorten the time frame, like the possibility of the [needed equipment’s availability] in nearby countries like Singapore, Hongkong, or Thailand, where they operate train system similar to LRT-2,” he said.

He explained that the shipment of the needed parts and components coming from the United Kingdom, France, and Japan will take time and that the equipment is not “plug and play.”

“They have to [be] manufactured [and] customized for the requirements of LRT-2. They are not readily available in the market. They need to be tested and commissioned after installation. They require fine tuning in order [to] function according to the performance level required,” he said. Coleen Ruth Abiog

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