THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation (DoTr) deployed 15 Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) trains on Apr 2, the first time since Jan 5. At around 2:10 p.m., Monday, the MRT-3 management said it was able to roll out 15 trains on the tracks, which resulted in headway of six minutes. The MRT previously operated with as low as about five to eight trains running on peak hours. “Our next target is to increase the availability to 20 trains when the new rehabilitation and maintenance service provider comes in,” DoTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John R. Batan said in a statement. But Mr. Batan said the 20-car configuration will depend on the outcome of the audit of the trains purchased from Dalian Locomotive. The DoTr said last month that the audit T‹V Rheinland on the Dalian trains is “substantially completed, but not yet concluded”. The firm was awarded the DoTr the contract to audit the system. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo
