Caloocan's petition for LRT station in Bagong Barrio OK'd

The Caloocan City government’s appeal for another Light Rail Transit station along EDSA in Bagong Barrio was approved by the national government last week, an official said.

Mayor Enrico Echiverri said the proposed train station in Bagong Barrio would become part of the P6.3-billion LRT-North Extension project or the LRT-Metro Rail Transit Loop.

“We are glad the President heeded our calls for the additional station, the city is united in our petition, both the public and private sectors,” the mayor said.

The original plan of the 5.4-kilometer LRT-MRT Loop project involves only three stations, one beside the end of the MRT-3 North Avenue, another in Balintawak, and one in Muñoz market, all in Quezon City.

Caloocan City petitioned the national government to include in the project additional station in Bagong Barrio to address the “persistent overcrowding” of passengers in LRT-Monumento Central Station, which is expected to get worse with the project’s completion.

Echiverri said the President’s approval of an additional LRT station in Bagong Barrio “is one viable solution” to effectively deal with the problem.

The local government also expects economic growth along EDSA-Bagong Barrio, a priority development area for national government projects and zonal programs, once the LRT-MRT Loop becomes operational.

The loop will connect LRT-1, running from Baclaran to Monumento in Caloocan City, with the MRT-3, which traverses Edsa from Pasay City to North Avenue in Quezon City.      – Pete Laude