MANILA — Metro Manila’s trains will be on extended operations from December 16 to 23 in anticipation of the holiday rush.

The Department of Transportation clarified, however, that extending train operations until midnight as proposed by some groups would mean less time for maintenance.

That, in turn, would lead to safety issues and to the risk of train breakdowns during peak hours.

Longer MRT, LRT operating hours? Not feasible says DOTr

Speaking on Teleradyo Serbisyo, Transportation Undersecretary Jeremy Regino announced the following train schedules for December 16 to 23:

LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT LINE 1

Last trip from Dr. Santos Avenue Station (Parañaque): 10:30 p.m.

Last trip from Fernando Poe Jr. Station (Quezon City): 10:45 p.m.

LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT LINE 2

Last trip from Antipolo Station: 9:30 p.m.

Last trip from Recto Station (Manila): 10 p.m.

METRO RAIL TRANSIT 3

Last trip from North Avenue Station (Quezon City): 10:34 p.m.

Last trip from Taft Avenue (Pasay): 11 p.m.

TIME NEEDED FOR TRAIN, LINE MAINTENANCE

"Starting December 16 — For one week lang po natin inextend hanggang December 23, before Christmas. We extended it by an hour pero hindi ho aabot ng hanggang midnight," Regino said.

(We have extended operations by an hour, but we cannot extend it until midnight)

He said that having the last trip at midnight would leave train maintenance workers too little time to perform checks on the trains and lines, which require a shutdown of the entire electrified line, before operations begin at 4:30 a.m.

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He said that train workers have to check the power cables for damage, the rails for debris and loose bolts, as well as the train coaches.

"Kung huminto yung tren natin sa peak hours, mas malaki ang perwisyo," he said.

(If we have a service interruption during peak hours, that would be a bigger problem)

CALLS FOR LONGER HOURS

Akbayan party-list has renewed calls for extended train hours to help Business Process Outsourcing workers and other late-night commuters get across Metro Manila but DOTr has said this is not feasible.

“Every day, commuters, especially [Business Process Outsourcing] workers and night-shift employees, face immense hardships. Extending train hours by even one or two hours can significantly alleviate their struggles, providing them with safe, efficient, and reliable transportation options after long hours of work," Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña said.

Akbayan: DOTr should consult commuters before closing door on extending MRT, LRT hours

He added DOTr should at least hold dialogues with commuters and stakeholders to discuss options, including extending train hours only on certain days of the week.

"Talagang overdue na ho ang development ng train system sa Pilipinas at we are trying our best to do a catch up," Regino said Sunday.

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