The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) now operates four-coach trains as it also kicked off a month-long free ride program following the completion of its rehabilitation under the Duterte administration.
Two four-coach trains are now operational which complement its other three-car units. MRT-3 Officer-in-Charge General Manager Michael Capati said the four-car trains are scheduled to run during peak hours—beginning at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. respectively—and are meant to add to the MRT-3’s passenger capacity.
Capati said each Czech-made CKD train car of the MRT-3 is capable of carrying up to 394 passengers — 1,182 passengers per three-car train or 1,576 per four-car train.
To date, he said an average of 18 to 22 trains—including four-car trains—are running at the MRT-3’s revenue line at any given time. “That’s a far cry from when we had 10 to 15 trains running, and we had an all-time low of only six trains,” he pointed out.
Capati said MRT-3 recorded six running train sets on its mainline on May 24, 2015, an “all-time low” for the rail service and was attributed to the “poor maintenance” of the MRT-3’s previous maintenance provider.
He said 48 out of the 72 CKD train cars have so far been overhauled, ensuring that the MRT-3 now has plenty of operational trains which now run faster after their “massive” rehabilitation.