THE METRO RAIL Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) was set to deploy on Tuesday one China-manufactured train set, which is equivalent to three train coaches and can carry 1,050 passengers per trip.
“Starting today, 15 October 2019, one Dalian train set will hit the tracks of MRT-3 mainline during evening off-peak hours, from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.,” the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said in a statement on Tuesday.
This comes after Sumitomo Corporation—Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI)—TES Philippines, Inc. (TESP), the maintenance provider of the MRT-3, approved last Monday the limited deployment of one train set from CRRC Dalian Company Ltd.
“The said consent indicates that the train set will be deployed for an initial trial period lasting up to when the maintenance provider begins its rail replacement works in November 2019,” the DoTr said.
The agency said officials from the maintenance provider and the DoTr MRT-3 are currently discussing the “technical considerations, especially when rail replacement works ramp up in the next few months.”
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which funds the development of the Philippine railway system including the MRT-3, has given its concurrence to the Dalian Trains Agreement with Sumitomo, the DoTr also said.
“Currently, three Dalian trains (9 train coaches) sets have already completed the necessary commissioning and validation tests including the 150-hour run. Each Dalian train set has a three-car configuration that can carry 1,050 passengers per trip,” it said further.
Asked why the new train set is only operational during evening off-peak hours, DoTr Assistant Secretary Goddess Hope Oliveros-Libiran told reporters via Viber: “We are balancing the requirements for fixing the degraded existing system and on the other hand, expanding capacity with the addition of Dalian trains. The reason for that is because capacity is not just additional trains. Capacity is also faster speed and shorter headways, which require us to rehabilitate the tracks and fix and upgrade the signalling system.”
She added that there’s no hesitation on the part of Sumitomo to use the Dalian trains. “There’s no hesitation. Sumitomo just needs to study how to operate the Dalian trains,” she said.
Also on Tuesday, the DoTr MRT-3 said a street vagrant died after he jumped over and fell at the inter-station of tracks of Buendia and Ayala at 12:16 in the afternoon.
The train movement was shortly regulated and went back to normal at 2:47 p.m.
“The matter was addressed by concerned MRT-3 personnel, medical personnel, and police authorities,” the DoTr MRT-3 said. — Arjay L. Balinbin
