QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- The Light Rail Transit 2 (LRT-2) East Extension project is now open to the public.

The commuting public travelling from the newly introduced stations of Marikina-Pasig to Antipolo station and vice versa will also be getting free rides for two weeks following the announcement of Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) alongside with the issuance of the approved fare matrix for LRT-2.

“The opening of the two additional LRT-2 stations, one in Marikina and another in Antipolo, will increase the [rail] lines daily capacity by 80, 000 passengers,” President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said during its inauguration ceremony.

Prior to the completion of this P9.5 billion project, the average daily capacity of the said rail line is 240, 000 passengers. Now, the estimated 3-hour long travel from Recto in Manila to Masinag in Antipolo is streamlined to 40 minutes paving way for economic productivity, "improved mobility," and efficient "transportation connectivity."

LRTA Administrator Reynaldo Berroya, meanwhile, said the materialization of the LRT-2 East Extension is a remarkable footprint of the "Build, Build, Build" Program among the integral prospects of Duterte administration. 

The need to extend the existing infrastructural system of LRT-2 to Antipolo in Rizal province was 20 years ago owing to the Metro Manila Urban Transportation Study (MMUTIS) by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1990.

It was then approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on September 4, 2012, and had undergone groundbreaking ceremonies in different dates from 2015, 2017, and 2019.

In particular, the 3.8-kilometer extension aims to address the traffic congestion in Marcos Highway especially in busy parts of Marikina, Pasig, and Antipolo City. (PIA-NCR with report from OJT Janna Pineda)