February 6, 2017
Following the completion of work on major innovations and upgrades, Doroteo Jose station of the Manila Light Rail Transit System (better known as the LRT) in the Philippines was officially reopened to great fanfare. Doroteo Jose station, which is part of the LRT’s Line 1 (LRT-1), is located on the major thoroughfare of Rizal Avenue in the district of Santa Cruz in the Philippines’ capital city of Manila. T
This elevated station is near Doroteo Jose Street, which was called Melba Street until being given its current name in 1914. Both this street and the LRT station in that section of Manila owe their name to a Filipino patriot who took a courageous stand against Spanish rule during the late 19th century. In 1898, Doroteo Jose was arrested by colonial authorities for leading a widespread protest against a corrupt archbishop assigned to that region of the Spanish Empire. (Towards the end of that year — and as a result of its defeat in the Spanish-American War — Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States; the Treaty of Manila of 1946 formally abolished this American sovereignty and recognized the independence of the present-day Republic of the Philippines.)
Doroteo Jose station first went into service on May 12, 1985. A large-scale renovation program for this station was initiated in December 2016. Just a couple of months later, those who took part in the grand reopening of Doroteo Jose station included Reynaldo Berroya, administrator general of the LRT Authority; and Rogelio Singson, president and chief executive officer of Light Rail Manila Corporation (and also a former secretary of public works and highways).
As part of the key upgrades made to Doroteo Jose station’s infrastructure, the elevators at this facility were installed with accessibility features such as braille buttons. In addition, a ceiling fan was put into place to improve ventilation throughout the station; and structural changes were made to facilitate the smoother flow of passengers going to and from trains. Overall lighting at Doroteo Jose station was likewise enhanced.
Doroteo Jose station is situated near Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, a world-renowned maternal and newborn medical center; Isetann, a large shopping mall; the Manila City Jail, a major detention center; and the University Belt, an area with a significant concentration of universities and colleges. Doroteo Jose station also serves a pivotal transfer point for buses and taxis. (The accompanying photo of this station was taken in 2019.)
LRT-1 encompasses 20 stations altogether and a total of 12.2 miles (19.7 kilometers). The two-line LRT in its entirety contains a total of 33 stations and covers 23.1 miles (37.2 kilometers) altogether.
Photo Credit: Matthew Gan (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ganmatthew) – licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
For more information on Doroteo Jose station, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doroteo_Jose_station
Additional information on the 2017 reopening of this station is available at https://ppp.gov.ph/?press_releases=govt-lrmc-inaugurate-newly-improved-lrt-1-doroteo-jose-station&so=0
Transportation History 
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