No extended MRT-3 hours during Christmas season due to repairs
MANILA, Philippines — The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 will not implement longer operating hours this Christmas season because work on the replacement of the system’s dilapidated rails begins this month.
Michael Capati, MRT-3 director for operations, announced this Tuesday. The train line usually extends its operating hours during the Christmas season.
Capati said the train management reached the decision after consulting with experts from Sumitomo and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, MRT-3’s maintenance provider.
“We will allot enough time for the rail replacement in the last three months of this year. Our rails have become so degraded so we need to replace them at the soonest time possible,” Capati said in Filipino.
He said the riding public can expect better services once the repairs are done: there will be shorter waiting time since trains will move faster and the trains can handle twice as much passengers.
The “full-blast” repairs will start this month, during non-revenue hours or from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. The rail replacement project is targeted for completion by February 2021.
Last week, the MRT-3 management added the first Dalian train set, which can ferry 1,050 passengers per trip, to the regular fleet of the line. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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