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Metro Rail Transit-3 has completed the overhaul of its 23-year-old fleet of 72 light rail vehicles, expanding passenger capacity
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The Department of Transportation said 10-15 train sets were deployed before the fleet overhaul began
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With its rehabilitation over, MRT-3 has shortened train intervals from 9.5 minutes to 4 minutes, and increased train speed from 25-30 kilometers per hour to 60 kph
The Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3) has completed the overhaul of 72 light rail vehicle (LRV) coaches.
The Department of Transportation in a statement said the overhaul of the 23-year-old fleet, completed three months ahead of the initial target of May, will significantly increase the rail line’s passenger capacity, with 18 to 21 trains expected to be deployed at peak hours.
Before the overhaul, at least 10 to 15 trains were deployed.
“Now that we have completed the overhaul of the 72 LRVs of the MRT-3, we expect more passengers to patronize the rail line, especially during the rush hour,” Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said.
With the rehabilitation complete, the MRT-3 line has shortened the waiting time between trains to 4 minutes from 9.5 minutes.
Train speeds have also been increased to 60 kilometers per hour from 25-30 kph, cutting travelling time from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City to just 30-35 minutes from 1 hour and 15 minutes previously.
The overhaul project commenced in 2019 with the reinstatement of Sumitomo-MHI-TESP as the maintenance provider of MRT-3. Sumitomo-MHI-TESP is the Japanese consortium that designed and built the MRT-3 system, and had maintained it from the start of operations in 2000 until 2012, when their contract expired.
The rehabilitation of the MRT-3 rail line was completed by Sumitomo-MHI-TESP in December 2021. It involved upgrades of the MRT-3 subsystems, including the replacement of the whole stretch of its revenue tracks, and the upgrading of signaling system, among others.
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