‘Degraded’ MRT-3 closed for entire Holy Week

MANILA, Philippines — The “degraded condition” of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) calls for a longer than usual maintenance shutdown this Holy Week, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said yesterday.

The MRT-3 will have its annual general maintenance shutdown from April 15 to 21, or from Holy Monday to Easter Sunday, and will resume operations on April 22.

Last year, the rail line suspended operations from Holy Wednesday until Easter Sunday.

“Due to the current degraded condition of MRT-3, the 2019 Holy Week shutdown programmed maintenance activities that require a longer suspension of operations,” the DOTr said.

On Monday night, at least 600 commuters were forced to get off a southbound train between the Cubao and Santolan stations when the train emitted smoke from its undercarriage. The MRT-3 said the smoke was caused by “a short-circuit in the high-voltage wire from the train’s traction motor.

The DOTr and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. signed last December a contract for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the MRT-3, making official the return of the train system’s original maintenance providers.

Sumitomo will be joined by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to restore the mass rail transit system to its original performance standards.

The rehabilitation and maintenance contract would cover the entire 16.9-kilometer line, all its 13 stations, all remaining 72 light rail vehicles and the MRT-3 depot on North Avenue in Quezon City.

The rail line, which runs from North Avenue station in Quezon City to Taft station in Pasay City, started operating in 2000 and the first general overhaul was completed by Sumitomo in 2008.

The second overhaul was supposed to have been completed in 2016, but with the termination of Busan Universal Rail Inc.’s contract in November 2017, only three of the 43 trains covered by its contract were overhauled.