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PAANO NAGSIMULA ANG LRT-1 | Ang Kwento Sa Likod Ng Mga LRT-1 Stations | Sangkay TV | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: PAANO NAGSIMULA ANG LRT-1 | Ang Kwento Sa Likod Ng Mga LRT-1 Stations
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LRT-1 is one of our main transportation here in Metro Manila. Even though
it is always crowded, many people still prefer to ride here because it avoids traffic and
the trip is faster. And if you are one of the frequent riders of LRT-1 and
also want to know where and from whom the names of its stations were taken. That's
what we're going to talk about in this video, guys. We will learn the
history of LRT Line 1 and the things you should know about it.
But before we start, I invite you to subscribe if you are new
to my channel and you like this kind of content. Please also click the
bell icon so that you are always updated when I upload my new videos.
Before there was LRT, there were already tram networks in Manila.
If you have watched my video about the Ayalas, you will remember that
their ancestor, Don Jacobo Zobel, founded Tranvia, the first
mass-transportation system in the country that produced tram cars in Manila. During
the Spanish era there were steam-powered trams but most were
pulled by horses. When the time of the Americans came, Tranvia went
under Manila Electric, Railway and Lighting Company or what
we know today as Meralco. It was here that electric-powered trams began,
numbering to 170 in 1924. Tranvia was able to connect
major streets in Manila and its neighboring cities. Unfortunately
World War 2 destroyed Manila's tranvia systems. It was abandoned
after the war and was quickly replaced by newer
public transport such as buses and jeepneys. The rights of way
used by the tranvia from Manila to Pasay were the
basis for the establishment of the first light rail transit or LRT system in the country.
In the late 1970s there was a study to build street-level
railways on Manila. But due to the number of intersections
in the city, it was changed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications
which later became the Department of Transportation or DOTr. Although more
expensive, it was decided to build elevated railways to
avoid hitting road intersections. On July 12, 1980, then President Ferdinand Marcos
created the Light Rail Transit Authority or LRTA which
gave way to the birth of what was then called "Metrorail". Former First
Lady Imelda Marcos became its chairman. Meralco's sister company Meralco Transit
Organization or METRO Inc. assists the LRTA in
its operations. To help get the project off the ground
we were loaned 300 million pesos interest free by the Belgian government which was
supplemented by 700 million pesos from four companies
also based in Belgium. It is expected that within 20 years
these debts will be repaid with the proceeds of the project. Construction of Line 1
began in September 1981. There was a test-run in March 1984 and
a few months later on December 1, 1984 the half of the line from
Baclaran to Arroceros which is now called the Central Terminal was opened.
Carriedo station was opened on April 14, 1985. And the remaining half of the
line from Doroteo Jose to Monumento was opened on May 12, 1985.
I remembered the first time I rode the LRT-1. It was late 90s,
I was in high school and we wanted to watch a stage play near the
United Nations. I used to only ride jeeps and tricycles, so
I was happy when I found out that my classmates and I were going to take the LRT. I
was like a child who was amazed at my first train ride. Back then we use token
as were just playing an arcade game. How about you guys,
do you remember when you first rode the LRT? Please share in the
comment section below. But I also noticed that the
LRT-1 seems to be old that time. Just a few years after it was opened, the line
experienced immediate damage due to the excessive number of passengers and
poor maintenance. So in 1994 it started its capacity expansion and rehabilitation
program with the help of Japan. And this is where they introduced the new
generation trains of LRT-1.
The 700 million pesos loan package from Belgian companies includes the
trains first used by LRT Line 1. The first generation trains of LRT-1 are called
LRTA 1000 class. They were made in Belgium and a total of
32 trainsets were built between 1982 and 1983.
The LRTA 1000 class were two-car trainsets. They also do not have
air conditioning and only use forced ventilation units. In
1990, due to the increase in passengers of LRT-1, it was necessary to increase
its capacity. As part of the capacity expansion program financed from
Japan's loan, the LRTA purchased four-car trainsets in
1996. The second generation of trains was called the LRTA 1100.
They were manufactured in South Korea by the Hyundai Precision Industry company
that produced 7 trainsets between 1997 and 1998. In 1999, the
second generation LRT-1 trains were first operated. And it added almost half to the
line's capacity. From its original capacity of carrying 18,000
passengers per hour in each direction, it has grown to 27,000 passengers per
hour. And unlike the old trains they are air-conditioned.
The LRTA also upgraded some first generation trains from
just two cars to three cars in a train set. In 2003
they also started installing air conditioning unit to the old 1000 class trains. On April
7, 2000, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation or JBIC loaned us
P8.8 billion for the second part of the LRTA's capacity expansion program. Japanese
companies Kinki Sharyo and Nippon Sharyo won the
contract to build the new trains. The third generation of LRT-1 trains called the
LRTA 1200 Class were produced in Japan. Like the 1100 class, the 1200 class has
four cars in a train set and 12 sets were built between
2005 and 2006. On December 9, 2006, the then
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led the
inauguration of the 1200 class in a ceremony in Baclaran. When
the trains were deployed it increased the capacity of LRT-1 from 27,000 passengers
per hour in each direction to 40,000 passengers per hour. Due to the
Cavite extension plan and the obsolescence of the first generation
trains, it has been studied that the LRTA needs to add new
trains. Japan again loaned us 14.1 billion pesos for new trains.
The company Mitsubishi Corporation together with Construcciones y Auxiliar de
Ferrocarriles or CAF won the contract. LRTA 13000 is the name given to the fourth
generation and newest trains of LRT-1. They were made in Spain and
Mexico and a total of 30 train sets with four cars per trainset
were built. On July 20, 2023 the 13000 class train ran for the first time. Currently
29 sets of 13000 class are in service. It gradually
replaced the first gen 1000 class, which are now just school trains or the
trains used for training new drivers. In the second
generation 1100 class, four sets are still in service and eleven sets
in the third generation 1200 class. To be honest, guys,
I had no idea about LRT-1 trains either. But I'm sure that the first LRT-1 train I rode was
the first generation 1000 class because it didn't have air conditioning. Then when I
was riding the LRT-1 almost every day, I didn't even notice that their trains were
different and the numbers on the front of the train could tell what
generation it was. How about you guys, are you familiar with the different
generations of LRT-1 trains? Do you still remember which train you first
rode on? Also, which generation of their trains do you like the most?
Please share in the comment section below.
LRT Line 1 started with 18 stations from Baclaran to Monumento.
But because of the North and Cavite extension, the line now has 25
stations. The naming of LRT-1 stations is simple.
They simply based it on the area where the station stood.
So let's talk about the story behind these names.
It's a bit long, so join me,guys. If
you come from North Avenue, the very first LRT-1 station is
Fernando Poe Jr. station. You guys probably know Fernando Poe
Jr. or FPJ nicknamed "Da King" and an icon of Filipino cinema. He died
on December 14, 2004, just a few months after the controversial
2004 Election in which he ran and lost for the presidency. FPJ has made
over 300 films and as a tribute to him he was awarded the
National Artist for Cinema in 2006. But even before
the station was renamed after FPJ in 2023, it was previously known as Roosevelt
station which was named after Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United
States. He was the longest serving American president from 1933 to
1945. Roosevelt was known for his fight against the Great Depression and
his leadership in the US during World War 2. Aside from the FPJ station, Quezon City
also covers the second station, Balintawak station. Other than Balintawak,
the area is also known as Balingasa and Cloverleaf. One of the possible origins
of the name Balintawak is the traditional dress of the Filipinos that was a
shortened version of "baro't saya". The place is also known for the Cry of Balintawak
or Cry of Pugad Lawin where Andres Bonifacio and the Katipuneros tore up
their cedulas, which became a signal of revolution against the Spanish.
The third station is Monumento station which is now Yamaha Monumento
after Yamaha Motor Philippines acquired the naming rights for the
station. The place is called Monumento because of the famous landmark
Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan by National Artist Guillermo
Tolentino. The Monument was created in conjunction with the celebration of the 66th
anniversary of the birth of Andres Bonifacio on November 30, 1929. Fourth
is the station closest to us which is 5th Avenue station. If
you are also from Caloocan you are surely familiar with street names such as
9th Ave, 10th Ave, and 11th Ave. It is said that the streets are named like this because
this is their number from the border of Manila in the south. So the 5th Avenue is the
fifth avenue from the Manila border. The fifth station is the R. Papa
station in Manila that was taken from Ricardo G. Papa. Papa was a general and
police officer who served in the Philippine Army from the 1940s to 1963.
He became the Commanding General of the Philippine Army in 1963 and became the
Chief of Police of the Manila Police District in 1966. The sixth station was the Abad
Santos station which was taken over Jose Abad Santos. Abad Santos is the
fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. During the
Japanese era, Manuel Quezon made him acting president before he left
for the US. Abad Santos became the president of
the Commonwealth for more than a month. He was also the commander-in-chief of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the height of World War 2 before he was
captured and killed by the Japanese in May 1942. He is also one of the three heroes
on the front of the old one thousand peso bill. With him are Josefa Llanes Escoda
and Vicente Lim. Seventh station is the Blumentritt station taken over from Ferdinand
Blumentritt. Blumentritt was an Austrian who became a close friend of
our national hero, Jose Rizal. Although he never went to the
Philippines, he believed in what Rizal and other Filipinos fought for.
He contributed greatly to the newspaper La Solidaridad which became
a voice for political reform in the Philippines. Blumentritt was also one of the
people Rizal wrote to before he was killed in Bagumbayan in 1896. The eighth
station is the Tayuman station. Tayuman is one of the busiest roads in
Manila. The name of the street comes from the purple plant called
"Tayum." It is said that there were many Tayum plants in the area, so
it was called "Calle Tayuman". Ninth is the Bambang station which is said to come
from an old word that means deep and long pit. It was said that the Katipuneros
built Bambang that they used to defend themselves against
the Spaniards and the Americans. After the war, these pits
served as canals for flood water, like our drainages or
sewers today. Tenth is the Doroteo Jose station which was taken from a
Filipino patriot during the Spanish era. Doroteo Jose was punished
by the Spanish after he led an action and petition
to depose a corrupt archbishop. This is the station that
I used to get off at when I was still working in Cubao because there is a bridge here
that connects to Recto station of LRT Line 2. The eleventh is the
Carriedo station which was taken over from the Spanish and former Captain General
of the Philippines, Francisco Carriedo y Peredo. When he retired as Captain General,
Carriedo donated ten thousand pesos of his own money for the construction
of a proper water system in Manila for the poor. When he died
in 1773, his last will included ten thousand for the
maintenance of the water system, funding a convent, a hospital
and providing free education to military officers. The water
system was completed in 1878 and Carriedo never saw it. Carriedo is the proof that
somehow there were Spaniards back then who really had a heart for the
Filipinos. The twelfth station is the Central Terminal which was also known as
Arroceros station because of its proximity to Arroceros Forest Park. Arroceros is
a Spanish word that means "rice dealers" in English. The place was the
former center of the rice trade in Manila. Thirteenth station is
the United Nations or UN station taken from the international organization.
The UN was established in June 1945 to maintain order and peace in the
world and provide assistance to countries in need. Today the UN
has 193 member states including the Philippines. Fourteenth is the
Pedro Gil station which was taken from former physician, journalist and legislator
Pedro Gil y Hernández. As a journalist he published the newspaper
Los Obreros which was for the workers. He served as a legislator of the
second district of Manila in 1928 where he focused on
lowering the price of electricity and gas to ease the lives of the
poor in the city. Fifteenth is the Quirino station that was taken from former
President Elpidio Quirino. Quirino was the sixth president of the country
from 1948 to 1953. He was known as the "Father of Industrialization in the
Philippines" because of his focus on the development of the country's economy
through industrial growth, infrastructure projects, and policies
to promote local manufacturing and attract foreign
investments. Sixteenth is the Vito Cruz station that was taken from
Hermogenes Vito Cruz. Vito Cruz is the former mayor of Pineda which is now
Pasay City. He led the katipuneros in Pasay who fought the
Spaniards and the Americans. Seventeenth is the Gil Puyat station. I remembered,
it was just last year when the street signs Gil Puyat Avenue were replaced with Gil
Tulog Avenue for an advertising campaign and it went viral . This angered
Gil Puyat's family as well as the then Mayor of Makati, Abby Binay, who immediately
removed the said signage. Gil Puyat Sr. was a politician and
businessman who was a Senator from 1951 to 1972. As a Senator
he promoted the reform of the public works fund. As a businessman,
he founded the Manila Banking Corporation which was sold to
Chinabank. He also founded the Manila Bankers Life Insurance Corporation and the
Loyola Group of Companies. Nineteenth station is Libertad Station.
It is named after the former Libertad Street which is now part of Arnaiz Avenue
in Pasay. Libertad is the Spanish word for liberty or freedom.
Eighteenth station is EDSA or Epifanio de los Santos Avenue. It was taken from
historian, journalist and civil servant Epifanio de los Santos y Cristobal.
De los Santos was considered one of the best writers of his time.
Other than that, he was also a member of the Malolos Congress and governor of
Nueva Ecija. As a lawyer, he became the district attorney of San Isidro, Nueva
Ecija and became the prosecutor of Bulacan and Bataan. He also became assistant
technical director of the Philippine Census and director of the Philippine Library and
Museum. As a tribute, one of the main roads in Metro
Manila that we know today as EDSA was named after him. This is where the historic
EDSA Revolution or People Power Revolution took place in 1986 that ended the
20-year dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Twentieth station is
Baclaran. Its name comes from the fishing equipment called
“baklad”. These are the rattan fences that are placed around the
fish to protect them. There were many Baklads in the area so
it was called "Bakladan" which soon became "Baclaran". Twenty-
first is the Redemptorist-Aseana station. It took its name from the nearby
Redemptorist Church, also known as Baclaran Church. The
Redemptorist is a religious congregation founded by Saint Alphonsus
Liguori in Italy in 1732. Aseana City or Aseana Business Park is the
place where the station stands. It is a mixed-use central business
district in Parañaque owned by DM Wenceslao and Associates Inc.
Twenty-second station is MIA Road or MIA station. It was named
after Manila International Airport Road or MIA Road which was the old name of
Ninoy Aquino International Airport Road or NAIA Road. The twenty-
third station is PITX which is also called the Asia World station. It is named
after its adjacent terminal Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange or PITX which
opened to the public in 2018. Asia World, also known as the Marina
District, is the property owned by the family of Tan Yu, who in 1997 was
included in the Forbes list as the tenth richest person in
the world with an estimated net worth of $7 billion. This means that he
was also the richest in the country at that time. Twenty-fourth
station is Ninoy Aquino Avenue. It was named after Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino
Jr. who became the governor of Tarlac and became a senator from 1967 to 1972.
Ninoy's death in 1983 became the spark of the EDSA revolution that
ousted President Marcos and returned democracy to the country. His wife
Corazon “Cory” Aquino succeeded Marcos and became the
eleventh president of the Philippines. He is the father of former president Noynoy
Aquino and the so-called "Queen of All Media" Kris Aquino. The
twenty-fifth and last LRT-1 station in the south is Dr. Santos
also known as Sucat station. It took its name from Dr. Arcadio Santos, who is
considered the first doctor of Parañaque. He is also the first
Congressman and Governor of Rizal from Parañaque. Under
his leadership, the Sucat road was opened to connect Parañaque and the village of
Sucat in Muntinlupa. Sucat comes from the Tagalog word "sukat" or measurement
in English. And that is the story behind the LRT-1 stations as of September 2025.
Additional stations might be added in the future because only Phase 1 of the
Cavite Extension has been completed and there are still Phase 2 and Phase 3.
When it opened in 1984, LRT-1 became the first light rail transit system
in Southeast Asia. Its stations were designed by National Artist for
Architecture Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa. His design was inspired by
the stone houses of the Spanish era that we can see on the
terracotta roofs of the stations. He also accompanied it with other
elements of the "bahay kubo" so the roof of another station is shaped like a
traditional "bahay kubo" roof. There is almost twenty years between
LRT Line 1 and LRT line 2 which opened in 2003. Today LRT-2 runs
from Recto in Manila to Antipolo. Line 1 was first called Yellow Line
while Line 2 was Purple Line. But since 2012 Line 1 has been
called Green Line in accordance with the color coding of Manila Light Rail Transit
System. On December 30, 2000, the horrific Rizal Day Bombing took place at the
Blumentritt station of the LRT-1. Although five places were bombed almost
simultaneously that day. Blumentritt station had the most
casualties. According to reports, 11 people died and 19 were injured in the attack
by suspected members of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.
Although the LRT-1 infrastructure is still owned by the government,
it is now operated by the private company Light Rail Manila Corporation or LRMC.
This is under the government's Public-Private Partnership program that aims to
attract billions of pesos of investment from the private sector to
improve the already poor condition of the LRT-1. According to the LRMC, in
November 2024 the average daily LRT-1 passenger will be 323,000.
Although it is not perfect, we cannot deny how the LRT-1 has facilitated
the travel of millions of Filipinos. It has been connecting places,
people, and possibilities within Metro Manila for more than four decades .
Thank you very much for joining us until the end of the video, guys,
What can you say about the story of LRT Line 1? Please share
your LRT-1 stories in the comment section below. Please also click the
Like button if you like this content. Until the next
video guys. Thank you for watching!
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