Railway systems in the country will be temporarily suspending their operations on Holy Week to give way to the annual system maintenance. The public is asked to be guided accordingly.
Train Schedules for Holy Week 2021
Citing announcements from the management of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), LRT Line 2 (LRT-2), Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), and Philippine National Railways (PNR), Manila Bulletin reported the schedule of operations and maintenance.
LRT-1 and LRT-2:
- March 31 (Holy Wednesday) to April 4: closed
- April 5: resumes operations
MRT-3:
- March 30 (Holy Tuesday) to April 4 (Easter Sunday): closed
- April 5: resumes operations
PNR
- April 1 (Maundy Thursday): closed, except for the Calamba-Tutuban route
- April 2 (Good Friday) to April 3 (Black Saturday): closed, all train operations
- April 4 (Easter Sunday): resumes operations on routes Tutuban-Alabang and vice versa, Tutuban-Calamba and vice versa, Tutuban-Gov. Pascual and vice versa, Gov. Pascual-Bicutan and vice versa, and Naga-Sipocot and vice versa
- April 5: resumes normal operations
Maintenance Works
During the suspended operations, the LRT-1 management will inspect key sections and facilities in the railway line. In particular, the heavy maintenance section, light maintenance section, overhead catenary section, power distribution sector-rectifier substation system, signaling and telecom section, tracks and civil section, building and facilities section, and depot equipment section will be under maintenance and repair works.
Meanwhile, the LRT-2 administration will be cleaning trains and facilities, while performing preventive maintenance. They will be focusing on the line’s stations and facilities, electronics and telecommunications systems, the overhead catenary system, train coaches, the power system, rectifiers, signaling system, and tracks.
MRT-3’s maintenance works, on the other hand, will involve the replacement of turnout parts for the depot tracks. The management will likewise perform power supply rehabilitation, equipment installation, cable laying/termination, point machine replacement, and the removal, re-installation, and calibration for turnouts. The communication systems will be inspected as well.
Sumitomo-MHI-TESP, the Japanese maintenance provider, will be responsible for the maintenance operations.
NCR Plus Travels
Even with the implementation of the general community quarantine (GCQ) bubble effective until the end of Holy Week, April 4, transportation has retained its current capacity and health protocols. Traveling, however, will have certain conditions.
Under the new measure, only essential travel within Metro Manila and nearby provinces, namely Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal (now labeled as “NCR Plus”) is allowed. Moreover, only authorized persons outside their residences (APOR) can go in and out of the bubble. This includes the following, as mentioned in this Sunstar report:
- Essential workers provided they can present a valid work ID
- Health and emergency frontline services personnel
- Government officials and government frontline personnel
- Duly authorized humanitarian assistance actors
- Persons traveling for medical or humanitarian reasons
- Persons going to travel abroad
- Anyone crossing areas for work or business and going back home
- Returning overseas Filipinos and overseas Filipino workers
Despite the travel limits, government officials clarified that movement within the bubble will not be restricted.
According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), no quarantine control points will be set up within NCR Plus, except at the boundaries of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal, as mentioned in this Inquirer report. The checkpoints are, in part, for the enforcement of uniform curfew hours, which start from 10PM to 5AM.
In spite of the essential-travel-only measure, staycations are allowed within the bubble, the Department of Tourism clarified in this CNN Philippines article. Those aged below 18 years old and above 65 are prohibited from going out. Pregnant women and people who have underlying medical conditions must also stay home.
Active Transport
The national government urged the public to bike and walk for essential travels within the GCQ bubble. Recently, the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) reported that key government agencies inspected bike lanes in key roads in the metro. The Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) vowed to install safety features for cyclists, including bollards, lightings, and lane markings.
The bike lanes surveyed were Monumento Circle in Caloocan, EDSA, Roxas Boulevard, Commonwealth, C5 Road, Quezon Avenue, and Commonwealth Avenue.
A few months into the pandemic last year, the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) promoted the use of bicycles as the primary alternative mode of transportation when the capital region was transitioning to general community quarantine, the Tribune reported.
Article and Photo originally posted by Lamudi last March 25, 2021.
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