LRT-1 ridership nears 37k mark before noon of Nazarene feast

The ridership at the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1's station in Manila's Sta. Cruz district neared 37,000 before noon Wednesday as devotees of the Black Nazarene flocked to Quiapo for the feast of their patron.

 

LRT Authority spokesman Hernando Cabrera said that while the daily ridership average of the LRT-1 Carriedo station is 37,000, the ridership was already 36,900 as of 11 a.m.

 

"Daily average person count at the LRT-1 Carriedo Station is 37,000. Today, 9 January 2013, ridership count as of 11 a.m. has already reached 36,900," he said.

 

The Carriedo station is the nearest to Quiapo Church, where the procession will culminate.

 

 

Millions of devotees are expected to take part in the feast's activities, including the procession of the Black Nazarene's image to Quiapo Church.

 

As this developed, state security forces shifted their focus Wednesday noon to the Quiapo area as the procession progressed.

 

The Manila Police District caught at least two suspected pickpockets, one of them a woman, in the Plaza Miranda area, radio dzBB's Cecilia Villarosa reported.

 

However, the report quoted police in the Plaza Miranda area as saying the situation at the Quiapo Church was still peaceful as of noon.

 

Aside from Manila police, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority sent reinforcements to the Quiapo area. — RSJ, GMA News