MANILA, Philippines ? Good news for riders of Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2.

LRT Authority Administrator Mel Robles Monday announced they were extending the operating hours of their trains to 11 p.m. on weekdays starting Tuesday as ordered by President Macapagal-Arroyo.

The time extension, however, will not be implemented on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

The last trip of Line 1 from Monumento to Baclaran used to be at 9:30 p.m. Line 2, on the other hand, previously made its last trip from Recto to Santolan at 10 p.m. Both lines start operating at 5 a.m.

Moving the closing time to 11 p.m. would draw in 20,000 more passengers nightly for Line 1 and 3,000 more for Line 2.

Robles assured the public that the longer operating hours would not result in a fare hike. He said the LRTA would simply monitor the additional expenses from the extended working hours, including power, security and staffing costs.

?It?s government policy not to raise fares for the train system,? he said.

Robles added that the average LRT fare is only P14.30 although it should be P81.

This means that the government is shouldering the rest, he added.

The overhead train system has experienced double-digit growth in passenger volume since the start of the year.

Line 1 recorded more than 76.6 million passengers from January to July, up from 67 million during the same period in 2007.

Line 2 serviced almost 33 million from January to July, compared to 30 million during the same period last year.