Riders can expect 15 MRT trains running by April

THERE should be at least 15 trains up and running along the tracks of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) after the Holy Week. At least, that’s the target of the transportation department, which seeks to ease the pains of commuters in Metro Manila.

Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said his group is working to fix the trains of the railway system, after taking delivery of necessary spare parts earlier this month.

“Our target is that, after Holy Week, we can restore the system to 15 trains running. The aim is to not let the number of operational trains further dwindle,” he was quoted as saying in a transcript sent by the agency to the media.

Sought for clarification, Transportation Director Goddes Hope O. Libiran said the agency even hopes to deploy “more” trains.

“The spare parts that are set to arrive are scheduled to be used by that time, when we can do full-blown maintenance,” she said in a text message.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there were seven trains plying the train facility along Edsa, a far cry from its original 21 running train design.

This means that the department must fix at least eight train sets—or about 24 light rail vehicles—right after the Holy Week.

MRT 3 Media Relations Officer Aly Narvaez explained that the government is planning to start the maintenance works for the railway system earlier than usual.

“Usually, the maintenance works during the Holy Week is from Thursday to Sunday. But we are looking at starting the full-blown maintenance works by Wednesday,” she said.

Libiran noted that the target of deploying 15 trains after the Holy Week is “doable.”

“I believe so—by that time, Sumitomo Corp. is also set to take over the maintenance of the railway system,” she replied when asked if the goal is feasible.

Sumitomo—the builder of the facility—is seen to take over the maintenance component of the railway system in the next three months.

Currently, a maintenance team from the government takes charge of the upkeep of the train facility. The Japanese company used to provide the maintenance requirements for the MRT 3. Its maintenance contract was terminated in 2012, after the previous government decided to take over the said component despite contrary provisions in the build-lease-transfer contract with MRT Corp.

WATCH | More wait time for commissioning of MRT cars

Even as light rail authorities are scrambling to test the MRT3 train cars procured from Dalian, China, before having them commissioned into service, another major disruption in the operation of the city commuter train occurred on Tuesday morning due to faults in the brake system and electrical components.

Hundreds of passengers had to disembark and walk along the tracks between the Ortigas and Shaw Boulevard stations at about 7:00 a.m.

Only six trains were on service for the hundreds of thousands of passengers who depend on the MRT.

The Dalian train cars have passed muster by the third-party auditor, TUV Rhineland, on a partial basis, with MRT officials saying at least one more round of tests would be required.

One of the technicalities is that the train cars were discovered to be 3 tons heavier that specified, although Rolf Bieri, the foreign rail technical consultant, explained that, when the load gets distributed to the eight axles underneath, the resulting axle load “will be far away from an overloaded car.”

But transportation expert Rene Santiago pointed out the residual factor of safety considering that, engineering-wise, not all of the tracks have undergone complete inspection and rehabilitation.