The Light Rail Transit Line 2, also known as LRT Line 2, LRT-2, or Megatren, is a
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...
line in
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
in the Philippines owned and operated by the
Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA). The line generally runs in an east–west direction between in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
and . The line is officially referred to as the Purple Line.
Although commonly known as LRT-2, the line is a high capacity
heavy rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleratio ...
line that uses large metro cars which are longer and wider than those used on the
PNR network and roughly the same size as those used on the
MTR in Hong Kong, instead of the
light rail vehicles used in earlier lines.
Until the opening of
MRT Line 7 in late 2025, it will be the country's only line that uses these types of trains.
Envisioned in the 1970s as part of the Metropolitan Manila Strategic Mass Rail Transit Development Plan, it was first planned in 1988 and stalled years later when Japan's
official development assistance
Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in 1969. It is w ...
funds stepped in, the thirteen-station,
line was the third rapid transit line to be built in Metro Manila when it started operations in 2003. The line became the first rapid transit line extending outside the
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
area after its extension to
Antipolo, Rizal opened in 2021.
The line is integrated with the public transit system in Metro Manila, and passengers also take various forms of road-based public transport, such as buses and
jeepneys, to and from a station to reach their intended destination. It is the least busy among Metro Manila's three rapid transit lines, with total ridership significantly below the line's built maximum capacity, serving about 140,000 passengers daily in 2023.
Regardless, the line encounters periods of peak ridership during rush hour in the morning and the evening. Expanding the network's revenue line to accommodate more passengers is set on tackling this problem, with the most
recent 2021 extension linking to
Antipolo and approved plans of a three-station westbound extension in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
.
History
Planning and early delays
During the construction of the first line of the
Manila Light Rail Transit System in the early 1980s, a Swiss company called Electrowatt Engineering Services designed a comprehensive plan for metro service in Metro Manila. The plan—still used as the basis for planning new metro lines—consisted of a network of rapid transit lines spanning all major corridors within 20 years, including a line on the Radial Road 6 alignment, one of the region's busiest road corridor.
On March 16, 1988, the project was approved by the cabinet, and a feasibility study for the LRT Line 2, then called the MRT Line 2 project,
that would connect Marikina to the
City of Manila via
Aurora Boulevard and
Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard was carried out in the same year.
[ (Prepared by Halcrow Group Limited).] Lavalin of Canada was interested in planning to build the line when the Philippine government would look to have a contract similar to the
Bangkok system that was to be developed by the company (this was cancelled in 1992). The project was to be bid out as a
build-operate-transfer project together with the
LRT Line 1 capacity expansion project in 1989.
[ In the same year, when President ]Corazon Aquino
María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...
directed transportation secretary Rainerio Reyes to speed up the implementation of the line, the project was one of the 10 major infrastructure projects worth ₱8.7 billion.
Although sixteen firms were reported to have submitted bids for the line's construction, the bidding failed, causing delays. Only one consortium, made up of Japanese-European firms ( Marubeni, Leighton, and Tractabel) and another Japanese firm, RRA International, attended the actual bidding. This means that the bidding for LRT 2 as a BOT project was unilaterally cancelled by transportation secretary Oscar Orbos, apparently in favor of a “ground-level” transit system.
Another feasibility study was conducted in 1991 with financing from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF). The final revised project was approved on December 13, 1995 as a separate project from the LRT-1 capacity expansion project. Early in 1994, the planned route was to run from Recto inside the Old Bilibid Prison to Katipunan, totaling 11.8 kilometers, but the actual route is 10 kilometers; the plan was also to have a depot located at the vacant site of Quezon Institute, and the plan was to have 26 2-car trains.
Construction and opening
The LRT Line 2 project officially began in 1996, twelve years after the opening of Line 1, with the granting of the official development assistance loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for the line's construction starting in March of that year. The LRTA would have ownership of the system and assume all administrative functions, such as the regulation of fares and operations as well as the responsibility over construction and maintenance of the system and the procurement of spare parts for trains.
Construction started with a groundbreaking ceremony on November 15, 1997, after the LRTA signed the first three packages of the agreement with Sumitomo Corporation
is one of the largest worldwide '' sōgō shōsha'' general trading companies, and is a diversified corporation. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is a member company of the Sumitomo Group.
It is listed on three Japanese stock exchange ...
delivering Package 1 in which covers the construction of the depot and its facilities, while the Hanjin
The Hanjin Group () is a South Korean chaebol. The group has various industries covered from transportation and airlines to hotels, tourism, and airport businesses, and is one of the largest chaebols in Korea. The group includes Korean Air (KA ...
– Itochu joint venture delivered packages 2 and 3 in which covers the substructure and the superstructure plus the stations respectively.
The project suffered delays in 1998 when the fourth package of the project, which includes the communications and fares systems, vehicles, and trackworks, were alleged to be anomalous, according to Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. Although it was promptly corrected by the Estrada administration after it assumed power in the middle of that year, it encountered similar problems two years later. In April 2000, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) met with officials from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). Out of the eight bidders, only two, Ansaldo; and Mitsui with Siemens, passed the technical evaluation process. To accommodate more bidders, especially that another two were disqualified, NEDA Secretary Felipe Medalla reportedly planned to lower the pre-qualification criteria from seventy percent to fifty percent, a move strongly opposed by the DOTC which reiterated that the seventy percent passing mark was only approved by the JBIC. However, Medalla reportedly justified his actions, saying that the JBIC was dissatisfied with the two qualified bidders and would stop all loans to the Philippines if more bidders were not added.
Finally, in September 2000, Package 4 was awarded to the ''Asia-Europe MRT Consortium'' (AEMC), a consortium led by Marubeni and composed of Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the company is active ac ...
, Toshiba
is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...
, Daewoo Heavy Industries, and a local company which was D.M. Consuji Incorporated (DMCI). AEMC, through Marubeni Corporation, entered into a contract with Singapore Technologies Engineering on December 12 of that year to supply and install the communications system
A communications system is a collection of individual telecommunications networks systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and terminal equipment usually capable of interconnection and interoperation to form an integrated whole. Commu ...
, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, automatic fare collection system, and the management information system. The consortium provided the eighteen four-car trainsets built by Rotem and Toshiba
is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...
.
During construction, the LRTA, along with the project consultants oversaw all the design, construction, equipping, testing, commissioning, and technical supervision of the project activities. Halcrow was appointed in 1997 as the lead consultant for the project. The consultancy services were also provided by De Leuw Cather and the Japanese consultants Katahira & Engineers International and Tonichi Engineering for the civil engineering.
The pre-casting segmental method, a method used to launch girders and connect them to create a full span, was used in the construction of the original line.
On April 5, 2003, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo inaugurated the line, effectively opening the first from to . Accompanying the president were former president Corazon Aquino, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, LRTA chief Teddy Cruz Jr., and other officials, who were the first official passengers of the "Megatren". Fares were free of charge until April 9. All remaining stations opened on April 5, 2004, except for Recto which opened on the following October 29. However, ridership was initially moderate yet still far below expectations, since the passenger volume in this line is not yet fully achieved.
To address passenger complaints on the lack of universal access on earlier train lines, the LRTA made sure during the construction phase that the stations were equipped with universal access by putting up escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...
s and elevators for easier access, as well as making passenger fares at par with the other existing lines. However, while all stations have elevators to and from the platform, not all stations have elevators to and from the station concourse on both sides of the road.
Extension to Antipolo
Plans to extend the line to Antipolo in the province of Rizal were first laid out in 1999 as part of the Metro Manila Urban Transportation Integration Study Master Plan by the Japan International Cooperation Agency
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...
(JICA). The MMUTIS study endorses the proposed expansion, which includes three stations, one of which was intended for the Vermont Royale Executive Village, but the proposal did not come to fruition.
The extension was first approved by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) board of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in October 2003. On August 3, 2006, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) announced its intention to extend the line eastward to Antipolo, also intending to extend the line westward to Port Area, Manila. In May 2011, LRTA secured commitments from the Philippine National Bank
The Philippine National Bank (PNB, ; ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Hokkien ) is a major Filipino bank based in Pasay in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, during the Insular Government, America ...
, Development Bank of the Philippines, and the Land Bank of the Philippines to fund the extension project. JICA then released a feasibility study report the following October. The extension, starting from the eastern terminus of up to Antipolo station in Antipolo, called for two additional stations: Emerald station (now ) in Marikina near Sta. Lucia Mall and Robinsons Metro East; and Masinag (now ), in Antipolo near SM City Masinag. The ₱9.7 billion project, at its current form, was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority chaired by then-President Benigno Aquino III on September 4, 2012. The Philippine national government funded the civil works contracts, while JICA funded the contract for the electrical and mechanical systems as part of its Capacity Enhancement of Mass Transit Systems in Metro Manila Project (CEMTSMMP) through a ¥43.2-billion loan for various projects of railway lines in Metro Manila. The project aimed to accommodate an additional 80,000 passengers and reduce traffic congestion along Marcos Highway. The lead consultant is a Korean consortium consisting of Foresight Development and Surveying, Soosung Engineering, and Korea Rail Network Authority.
The first two packages, awarded to D.M. Consunji Incorporated (DMCI), covered the design and construction of the viaduct and stations. Unlike the original line which used the pre-casting segmental method of construction, the east extension viaduct made use of AASHTO
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...
girders with a deck slab above the girders. Meanwhile, the third package, awarded to Marubeni and DMCI, covered the design and installation of the railway tracks and electrical and mechanical (E&M) systems of the extension. The project broke ground on June 9, 2015, with an original 2017 deadline. On May 30, 2017, another groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark the start of construction of the two stations. The final phase of construction, covering the installation of the tracks, electrical and mechanical systems, commenced on April 16, 2019. During construction, on March 10, 2017, a truck slammed in a concrete post of the east extension viaduct, killing one and injuring two.
The initial 2017 deadline was not met, largely due to delays in the station's construction and the installation of the electrical and mechanical systems. It was repeatedly moved to 2020, before being delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Nevertheless, the extension was inaugurated by President Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...
on July 1, 2021, before formally opening four days later with free rides for two weeks.
In the following two months since its opening, a shuttle service was implemented between Antipolo and Santolan pending the completion of signaling integration, with one train running within the line's extension. This arrangement caused passenger complaints concerning its inefficiency, which was further exacerbated by the lack of operational trains. Seamless end-to-end services were initially expected to begin within two weeks after opening, but only started two months later on September 3, after integration works were completed.
Extension to Cogeo
Plans for the extension to Cogeo were mentioned in 1992. The Japan International Cooperation Agency
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...
(JICA) has also proposed for a second phase of the east extension to extend the line to Cogeo and downtown Antipolo. There are provisions at the end of the current rail line at Antipolo station for an extension. Two proposals were presented by JICA: a , one-station underground extension, and a , five-station extension, both originating from Antipolo station. As of February 2025, the feasibility study is nearing its conclusion. The extension would have three stations and the alignment is still being finalized.
Route
The rail line serves the cities that Radial Road 6 passes through: Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, San Juan, Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...
, Marikina
Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 4 ...
, Pasig (depot), and Antipolo. The rails are mostly elevated and erected either over or along the roads covered, with sections below ground before and after the station, the only underground station on the line.
Stations
The line serves 13 stations along its -route. The western terminus of the line is the station at Recto Avenue
Claro M. Recto Avenue, more popularly known as simply Recto, is the principal commercial thoroughfare in north-central Manila, Philippines. It spans six districts just north of the Pasig River in what is generally considered Manila's old downt ...
, while the eastern terminus of the line is the station along Marikina–Infanta Highway.
Three stations serve as connecting stations between other lines in the metro. is within walking distance to the station of the PNR Metro Commuter Line; is indirectly connected to the station of the same name on the MRT Line 3 through local streets and inter-connected mall passageways inside Araneta City; and is indirectly connected to the station of the LRT Line 1 through a covered walkway. No stations are connected to other rapid transit lines within the paid areas.
Operations
The line currently runs from 5:00 a.m. PST ( UTC+8) until 9:30 p.m. on a daily basis. It operates almost every day of the year unless otherwise announced. Special schedules are announced via the PA system at every station and also in newspapers and other mass media. During Holy Week
Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...
, a public holiday in the Philippines, the rail system is closed for annual maintenance, owing to fewer commuters and traffic around the metro. Normal operation resumes after Easter Sunday
Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...
. During the Christmas and year-end holidays, the operating hours of the line are modified and shortened, due to the low ridership of the line during the holidays.
Station facilities, amenities, and services
Station layout and accessibility
Stations in the line are located above ground, except for , which is located underground. Stations have a standard layout, with a concourse level and a platform level. The concourse contains ticket booths and is usually below the platform except for the underground station, with stairs
Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...
, escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...
s and elevators leading down to the platform level. The levels are separated by fare gates. All stations are barrier-free inside and outside the station, and trains have spaces for passengers using wheelchair
A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...
s.
Most station platforms are long and wide, with some stations having a length of . All stations have side platform
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...
s, with the exception of , which as an island platform
An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...
. Part of the platform at the front of the train is cordoned off for the use of pregnant women, children, elderly, and persons with disabilities. At side-platform stations, passengers are able to switch platforms at the concourse level without leaving the closed system, while passengers can easily switch sides at stations with island platforms. Stations have toilets at the concourse level, both inside and outside the closed system.
Folding bicycle
A folding bicycle is designed to be compacted into a smaller, more manageable size or shape, making it easier to store or carry . When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings, on public transportation (facilitating mixed-mo ...
s are allowed to be brought into trains provided that it does not exceed the LRTA's baggage size limitations of . The last car of each train is also designated as "green zones", where folding bicycle users can ride with their bikes.
The line has a total of 72 escalators and 40 elevators across all 13 stations. However, by 2021, only a few elevators and escalators remain operational due to anomalies and corruption involving the procurement contracts, causing complaints from passengers. The elevators and escalators are being repaired and restored since 2022, and more are being repaired and restored as of April 2022.
Shops and services
Stations have at least one stall or stand where people can buy food or drinks, which vary by station. Stations such as Recto ( Isetann Cinerama Recto), V. Mapa ( SM City Sta. Mesa), Gilmore ( Robinsons Magnolia), Araneta Center—Cubao ( Ali Mall, Farmers Plaza, Gateway Mall, Isetann Cubao, and SM Araneta City), Santolan ( SM City Marikina), Marikina—Pasig ( Robinsons Metro East and Sta. Lucia East Grandmall), and Antipolo (SM City Masinag) are connected to or are near shopping malls and/or other large shopping areas, where commuters are offered more shopping varieties.
It is also accessible to major transport terminals in Metro Manila such as Avenida Bus Terminal via Recto and Araneta City Bus Port via Araneta Center—Cubao.
Since November 19, 2001, in cooperation with the ''Philippine Daily Inquirer
The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded broad ...
'', passengers have been offered copies of the '' Inquirer Libre'', a free, tabloid-size, Tagalog version of the ''Inquirer'', which is available at all stations.
Ridership
The line is designed and was forecasted to carry 570,000 passengers daily. However, the line operates under its designed capacity since its opening,[ (Prepared by Sanshu Engineering Consultant)] government officials have admitted that system extensions are overdue, although in the absence of major investment in the system's expansion, LRTA has resorted to experimenting with and/or implementing other solutions to maximize the use of the system, including having bus feeder lines. On October 3, 2014, the line recorded its highest total average of daily passengers, where the ridership within the day reached 281,231 passengers.
Before the pandemic, the line had a ridership of 200,000 passengers, but the ridership soon decreased in 2019 due to lack of trains and a power trip that closed three stations in October 2019 that was reopened in January 2021. The line served 33,267 passengers daily on average in 2021, with eight trains available for revenue service running at an operating speed of in ten-minute intervals, and one train in reserve for rush hour services, which cuts the time intervals to a minimum of eight minutes. Since 2022, with the return of onsite schooling, ridership has steadily increased, but is yet to return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
levels. On April 30, 2025, in the aftermath of the free rides program on April 30 - May 3, 2025 held during Labor Day, the line reached a record number of daily passengers in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which reached a total of 206,817 passengers, and beating its previous record of 202,338 passengers, which was recorded on November 29, 2024. A total of 787,284 passengers commuted along the line during the free rides program.
Statistics
Rolling stock
The line runs sixteen electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
s made in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
by Hyundai Rotem powered by Toshiba
is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...
-made VVVF inverters. The trains came in together with the fourth package during the system's construction. The four-car trains have a capacity of 1,628 passengers, which is more than the normal capacity of the rolling stock of Lines 1 and 3. The trains are capable of running at a maximum design speed of , but only run at a maximum operational speed of . These trains prominently use wrap advertising.
In 2017, the entire train fleet was retrofitted with the TUBE
Tube or tubes may refer to:
* ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film
* "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show
* Tube (band), a Japanese rock band
* Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/electronica producers Arndt Rör ...
(formerly known as PARDS), a passenger information system powered by LCD screens installed near the ceiling of the train that shows news, advertisements, current train location, arrivals and station layouts.
In 2019, the train ventilation was upgraded to replace the aging air-conditioning units and to alleviate complaints of the commuters for uncomfortable hot rides. Two years later, three train sets underwent refurbishment and resulted in new fitted propulsion systems and train monitoring systems from Woojin Industrial Systems
Woojin Industrial Systems () is a South Korean manufacturer of rolling stock including Rapid transit, metro, electric bus, people mover, peoplemover and monorail vehicles. Its main business is the development of Rolling stock, rolling stocks an ...
.
The LRTA is also acquiring 14 additional train sets by 2020 to augment the existing 18 sets, due to the expected increase of passengers ahead of the East Extension, and the West Extension. The purchase however was delayed to 2022. No updates were made as of 2024.
Included in the design-and-build contract of the west extension is the procurement of five four-car train sets.
Depot
The line maintains an at-grade depot in Barangay Santolan in Pasig, near Santolan station in the side of Barangay Calumpang in Marikina. The depot occupies approximately of space and serves as the headquarters for light and heavy maintenance.[ Due to its location in a flood-prone area, the depot was raised above ground level.][ It is connected to the mainline network by a spur line.
The depot is capable of storing 24 sets of electric multiple units, with the option to expand to include more vehicles as demand arises. They are parked on several sets of tracks, which converge onto the spur route and later on to the main network.]
There are eight decommissioned 1000 class and one set of 1100 class trains formerly used in LRT Line 1 being stored in this depot due to the expansion of the Line 1 depot in Parañaque.
Other infrastructure
Signaling
The line uses a fixed block system with automatic train control (ATC), which has three subsystems: automatic train protection
Automatic train protection (ATP) is the generic term for train protection systems that continually check that the speed of a train is compatible with the permitted speed allowed by signalling, including automatic stop at certain signal aspects ...
(ATP), automatic train operation (ATO), and Rail9000 automatic train supervision (ATS). The ATO subsystem automatically drives the trains, while the opening and closing of doors is controlled by an onboard train attendant. The ATP system, meanwhile, maintains safe operations and monitors the train's speed. Lastly, the Rail9000 ATS system is located at the operations control center at the line's Santolan Depot, which directs train operations and monitors the train movement along the line. Other components of the signaling system includes train detection through track circuits and Westrace MK1 computer-based interlocking
Computer-based interlocking is railway signal interlocking implemented with computers, rather than using older technologies such as relays or mechanics
Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matt ...
.
The signaling equipment were manufactured by Westinghouse Signals (later Westinghouse Rail Systems, acquired by Siemens in 2013).
The signaling system was upgraded with the replacement of its communication link and the upgrading of the Westrace interlocking module. The project started on February 15, 2022, and was completed on March 29.
Tracks
The rails are rails designed to the UIC 54 rail profile
The rail profile is the cross-sectional shape of a Railway track#Rail, rail as installed on a railway or railroad, perpendicular to its length.
Early rails were made of wood, cast iron or wrought iron. All modern rails are hot rolled steel ...
. The rails are supported by concrete plinths.
Plans and proposals
West extension
A extension of the line to the Manila North Harbor in Tondo, Manila has been proposed. It was first announced in August 2006, when the LRTA announced its intention to extend the line eastward to Antipolo and westward to the Pier 4 of the Manila North Harbor. It was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on May 19, 2015. The construction of this extension would create three stations, one near the Tutuban PNR station, one in Divisoria, and one near the North Port Passenger Terminal in Manila North Harbor's Pier 4 which would serve as its terminus. In an interview, LRTA Administrator Ret. Gen. Reynaldo Berroya stated that they are aiming to finish the project by 2022 to 2023. The project is now expected to start construction in 2025.
The total project cost is estimated to be ₱10.12 billion. In 2019, WESTRAX Joint Venture was awarded the contract for the consultancy services for the project.
In October 2019, the project was under bidding process, consisting 3 stations, , , and , with the project scheduled to be completed by 2024.
On August 27, 2020, the Light Rail Transit Authority published the bidding documents for the design-and-build contract for the west extension. According to the documents, the turn back area after the station will have three tracks; two of which are the main tracks and one serves as a pocket track. The three stations will feature side platform
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...
s.
The project was originally planned to be funded through a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme, in line with the Marcos administration's policy to use the said scheme to complete various infrastructure projects. The contract would have also covered the procurement of five new four-car trains, along with the maintenance of the line and the refurbishment of the trains. However, it was decided that the government will instead fund the project through the national budget.
On January 2025, LRTA stated that the process of right of way acquisition for the West Extension is now underway.
Privatization
The privatization of the operations and maintenance of Line 2 was planned by the then-Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC; later the Department of Transportation) as part of the agency's improvement and modernization of the railway lines in the Philippines. The bidding process for this project begun on September 13, 2014. In this project, the interested companies were required to submit pre-qualification documents and submit a bid proposal if the company is qualified for the bidding. In January 2015, four companies submitted pre-qualification documents for the project. The bidders included Aboitiz Equity Ventures with SMRT Transport Solutions ( Aboitiz Equity Ventures and SMRT International Pte Ltd. through SMRT Trains), DMCI Holdings with Tokyo Metro, Light Rail Manila 2 Consortium ( RATP and Metro Pacific), and San Miguel Corporation with Korea Railroad Corporation. All bidders were pre-qualified for the bidding. However, the project would eventually be shelved in 2016.
In 2017, it was reported that the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation was interested in a possible auction for the privatization of the line. The plan to privatize the operations and maintenance of the line was restarted in October 2019, following a power trip that damaged two rectifiers. Since then, no new reports have surfaced about this plan as of 2021.
Capacity expansion and upgrade
Due to the aging of the line, a capacity expansion project for the line was announced in April 2022. The project would include upgrades to the trains, signaling, telecommunications, power supply, overhead systems, railway tracks, and other system equipment. The project is still under the stages of the procurement of a consultant for the project, which would assess the current condition of the line.
TÜV Rheinland has been shortlisted for the list of consultants and is the only consultant to be shortlisted in June 2022.
Like the west extension, the upgrading of the train cars would be funded through a public-private partnership scheme. The contract would also cover the maintenance of the line and the construction of the west extension.
Incidents
* On June 11, 2011, a man jumped in front of a moving train at the Araneta Center–Cubao station, leaving the man severely injured. This forced the line operations to be suspended.
* On May 9, 2017, at 4:03 PM, a tree fell to the tracks at the Anonas area, causing the line's operations to be disrupted and a 2000 class train nearby was hit. The Department of Public Works and Highways local office was doing roadworks at the site of the incident when they accidentally hit a tree that fell on the tracks. Partial operations between Recto and V. Mapa were implemented, until the line's operations were suspended an hour later. The incident area was cleared and full operations resumed at 7:41 PM.
* On May 30, 2018, a damaged cable between J. Ruiz and V. Mapa stations caused limited operations between Santolan and Araneta Center–Cubao stations at 11:46 AM. Normal operations resumed at 7:46 PM.
* On May 18, 2019, two trains collided between Anonas and Cubao stations, injuring 34 passengers, with none in critical condition. Revenue operations were suspended to give way to maintenance checks, and normal operations resumed at 10:47 AM the next day. Trainset no. 18 returned to service in June 2021, while Trainset no. 13 returned to service in September 2021.
* On October 2, 2019, at 9:43 am, a lightning
Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
struck the station, causing the power transformers at the and stations to trip and disrupt the power supply. The operations of the line were suspended for safety checks and normal operations resumed at 10:11 AM.
* On October 3, 2019, another power trip caused rectifier substations located between Anonas and Katipunan stations and in the Santolan depot to catch fire at around 11 in the morning, cutting the line's power supply in the area. Line operations from Recto to Santolan were suspended at 11:24 am, and passengers were evacuated from the line with no injuries. The LRTA, MMDA and the Philippine Coast Guard immediately deployed shuttle buses to help ferry stranded passengers. Partial operations between Cubao and Recto stations resumed on October 8, 2019, while Santolan, Katipunan and Anonas stations are expected to reopen after nine months. The initial estimated amount of damages is at around PHP428 million. Due to the incident, the Light Rail Transit Authority claimed full operations would be back in 2 to 3 months. As the initial deadline was not met, the three stations that were caught in a power trip were expected to resume services at the end of June 2020. However, this deadline was also not met due to delays brought by the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, rescheduled for the first quarter of 2021. Finally, the three stations were reopened, albeit in partial speed, on January 22, 2021. The reopening was made possible by a temporary power supply system installed in the damaged portion while the proper systems are still on order and awaiting delivery.
* On October 8, 2020, a fire broke out in the electrical room at causing the operations to be suspended at 5:10 AM. The fire damaged the station's uninterruptible power supply
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or uninterruptible power source is a type of continual power system that provides automated backup electric power to a electrical load, load when the input power source or mains electricity, mains power fai ...
. Normal operations returned a few hours later.
* On September 17, 2021, a defective catenary wire at the east extension area caused disruptions in operations. A shuttle service between Santolan and Antipolo was implemented at 9:43 AM. On the same day, the line's operations were briefly suspended at 11:36 AM after a tangled t-shirt was seen hanging at the contact wires between Cubao and Anonas stations. Operations with the shuttle service resumed at 11:49 AM, while full end-to-end operations were known to be resumed the following day.
* On October 9, 2021, an entangled balloon
A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...
was discovered between V. Mapa and Pureza stations, causing the line's operations to be temporarily suspended. The operations resumed after 30 minutes.
* On August 17, 2024, a street dweller was spotted in between the rail line’s Pureza and Legarda stations. The situation forced to limit the train line's service from Antipolo to V. Mapa. Normal operations resumed after a few hours.
* On August 19, 2024, a catenary cable caught fire between the Katipunan and Santolan stations. This led the line's operations to be limited from Recto to Cubao. It was only the following morning wherein full operations resumed.
*On September 11, 2024, a power supply problem halted operations between V. Mapa and Recto stations. Operations resumed five hours after the incident.
*On September 12, 2024, a damaged pantograph on a 2000 class train at J. Ruiz station caused a brief halt on operations.
*On January 17, 2025, a train broke down, forcing commuters to ride other types of transport. This led to a "half-line" operation from 5:00 AM wherein the line would operate from Recto to Araneta Center–Cubao, 4 hours later, stations beyond Araneta Center—Cubao resumed normal operation.
Notes
References
External links
Official LRTA website on LRT Line 2
{{Urban Rail Transit in ASEAN
Line 2
Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 2
The Light Rail Transit Line 2, also known as LRT Line 2, LRT-2, or Megatren, is a rapid transit line in Metro Manila in the Philippines owned and operated by the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA). The line generally runs in an east–west di ...
Transportation in Rizal (province)
Railway lines opened in 2003
2003 establishments in the Philippines
Transportation in Luzon
1500 V DC railway electrification