MANILA — The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) has reached 15 running trains Monday afternoon following the general maintenance activities that were conducted during the Holy Week break from Wednesday March 28, 2018 to Sunday April 1, 2018.
As of 2:10 p.m., there were 15 operational trains with headway time of six minutes, according to an advisory of MRT management.
The last time the railway system had 15 running trains was on January 5, 2018.
“Our next target is to increase the availability to 20 trains when the new rehabilitation and maintenance service provider comes in. But we expect that the more we increase capacity, the more people will come,” Department of Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said in a statement.
The MRT management needs to achieve its targets of 20 trains of four-car configuration, which can carry 700,000 passengers per day, and 25 trains with four cars each set, which can accommodate 900,000 passengers.
It would all depend on the outcome of the audit being conducted by TUV Rheinland, the independent certifier contracted to audit and assess the entire MRT-3 system and the Dalian trains.
TUV Rheinland said that more tests are needed to determine the suitability to the tracks of the Dalian trains.
A weighing test on the 48 trains needs to be done to determine their compatibility with the railway tracks of the MRT system.
Additional information and documentation on the design of the trains are still being obtained while further type and routine tests are still to be conducted, based on TUV Rheinland’s interim report.
The MRT management earlier said that the arrival of more spare parts starting last February has resulted to the improvement of the railway system’s operations. (PNA)
