Safe Journeys
LRMC’s Morning Madrid and Duday de Sales help turn the LRT-1 into a more efficient (and coronavirus-free) ride
Words by ALYA B. HONASAN
For Andrea “Morning” Madrid, Head of Safety, Environment, and Quality (HSEQ) of Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), the company that operates and maintains the Light Rail Transit-1 (LRT-1), 2020 will go down in her books as “the year of the impossible,” she said.
Indeed, the year unfolded quickly with one surreal event after another, beginning with the eruption of Taal Volcano in January 12. Almost overnight, thousands of Filipinos were displaced from their homes and livelihood, while favorite weekend getaway Tagaytay City resembled an eerie ghost town coated in volcanic ash.
Morning Madrid
The worst was yet to come. News of COVID-19’s presence in the country as early as January 30, and the ensuing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) declared in the National Capital Region on March 17 brought the once bustling metro to a halt. For the first time since anyone could remember, offices imposed work-from-home orders, thriving commercial establishments closed, and mass transportation, including the LRT-1, was barred from operating.
“In the history of the LRMC, the only time we’ve shut down is during Holy Week, when we use the 4-5 days to do preventive maintenance,” said Morning. “This has never happened and we’re the only country, if not one of a few, that shut down our transportation due to COVID-19.”
““In the history of the LRMC, the only time we’ve shut down is during Holy Week... We’re the only country, if not one of a few, that shut down our transportation due to COVID-19.” ”
The year of possibilities
But 2020 can also be remembered as the year of possibilities, of cutting-edge technology and innovative responses to life in the new normal. When Metro Manila eased into a less stringent general community quarantine on June 1, LRT-1 resumed its operations with a number of health and safety protocols in place. Disinfecting mats, hygiene supply provisions, visual cues on social distancing, and the daily health monitoring of commuters and staff were among the first lines of defense against the spread of COVID-19. LRMC also deployed FLIR, forward-looking infrared thermal cameras that detected unusually high temperature in people and objects, in its high-volume stations.
Trainspotting. The IkotMNL mobile app helped commuters check real-time arrivals and departures and the size of the crowds. Official LRT1 Youtube Channel, “IkotMNL Mobile App”. Nov 19, 2019.
Planning ahead. The app features were updated to help commuters plan their trips better in the New Normal. “Uncle Ju” explains them all in the video tutorial. Official LRT1 Youtube Channel, “#RideSafeOnLRT1: Trip Planning using ikotMNL App”. August 26, 2020.
A mobile app was also developed for passengers to better plan their trips. ikotMNL offers such relevant information as real-time weather updates, train track fares, a train’s exact location, and the volume of commuters at any given time. It also helps in contact tracing, a necessity while COVID-19 cases are still on the rise.
To disinfect the trains, chlorine-based solutions were replaced with Ultraviolet C (UV-C) technology. Used to sterilize hospitals, offices, laboratories, and various forms of mass transportation, UV-C technology has not only been around for ages, it’s proven effective in killing harmful bacteria and viruses, including the novel coronavirus. A technical partnership with the University of the Philippines’ (UP) National Engineering Center helped LRMC take its disinfection practices to the next level.
Duday de Sales
The face of UV-C disinfection
Morning calls LRMC Environmental and Social System Manager Louernie “Duday” de Sales “the face of UV-C disinfection”, given her palpable passion for the technology.
“Before, we only used hydrochloride for disinfection. But our supplies were dwindling, so we had to innovate, come up with a different method or tool that won’t compete with the usual,” said Duday. “When the Dean of UP’s College of Engineering asked me for ideas on COVID-19 related responses that the university could take on, I shared them with him, including a UV-C germicidal cabinet for frontliners’ personal protective equipment. I also presented it to LRMC and said we could apply it in the trains and our operations. So we made the designs (for prototype handheld and 360-degree UV-C lamps) and rolled them out during ECQ. I think they’re the very first UV-C for trains.”
Let there be light. Duday carries the disinfecting UV light for LRT trains, developed with the UP College of Engineering. Her team calls her the “face of UV-C disinfection, because of her passion for the technology.
These fine examples of science are also products of resourcefulness, of making do with what they had—in the case of the germicidal cabinet, a plastic Orocan wardrobe, a mirror to reflect light, and 15-watt UV-C bulbs. These are inexpensive, required minimal manpower to operate, and didn’t expose workers to the noxious fumes of liquid cleaning agents. “Now every time the train hits the end stations, it’s sanitized and disinfected within three minutes,” said Duday. “At night, it’s exposed to UV-C for 30 minutes.”
Duday’s efforts to improve transportation aren’t limited to the LRT-1. This tireless advocate of bicycles has been pushing various groups—from the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Department of Transportation to different local government units—to implement bikeways for years. Bicycles have become the mode of transportation du jour for many commuters during the lockdown, and Duday dreams of the day they have a permanent place on the road.
“It’s a long shot,” she conceded, “but it’s a way to reduce our carbon footprint. Bike lanes can help us offset around 12,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.”
““What really motivated me was our upbringing, to be an Iskolar ng Bayan, to give back. We really need to give back to the communities, the people who put us through school.””
Giving back
Schooled in chemical and environmental engineering at UP and a part-time professorial lecturer in her alma mater, Duday was ready for retirement when she was told about a job that matched her skill set. In 2015, she joined LRMC, a joint venture company of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation’s Metro Pacific Light Rail Corporation, Ayala Corporation’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, and the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) PTE Ltd.
“What really motivated me was our upbringing, to be an Iskolar ng Bayan, to give back,” she explained of how she came up with the UV-C germicidal prototypes. “We really need to give back to the communities, the people who put us through school. We need to survive this pandemic, and the only way for us to survive is to unite.”
“I don’t expect anything in return, I just want to give whatever I could give,” she added. “In this pandemic, we really have to push ourselves. What is my purpose, how can I be of help, what is my contribution? That’s what drove me this whole time.”
Ready to ride. LRT prepared the public for “"commuting in the New Normal”" through an information campaign that included posters, social media, the app, and other platforms. Official LRT1 Youtube Channel , “COVID precautions explained”. May 29, 2020.
It’s a sentiment shared by Morning, who was with the power sector for 14 years before moving to transportation via LRMC in 2018. “The pandemic has made me more agile, more responsive to what’s happening, because people depend on me for decisions on what to do next,” she said. “I always study what other countries do and how they respond to situations so I can give valid and reliable recommendations.” She’s also become more forward thinking, suggesting early on to invest in washable face masks when the public was scrambling for surgical masks.
More importantly, the year of the impossible was when Morning realized that “Anything is possible. You can never be too prepared.”#
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