DOTr rolls out first set of Dalian coaches for MRT 3

A prototype of the Chinese-made Dalian coaches (Photo from the Department of Transportation)

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) rolled out the first set of Dalian coaches for the Metro Rail Transit line 3 (MRT 3) a week before the Undas holidays – that is, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

The DOTr announced on Saturday that three coaches had already been deployed out of the 45 coaches acquired from China-based CRRC Dalian Co. Ltd.

The coaches are expected to further reduce the number of breakdowns of the MRT 3, which has so far recorded 56 glitches since the start of 2018.

According to Transportation Undersecretary John Batan, who was one of those first passengers of the Dalian train, the aim of the rollout is to evaluate the capacity of the Dalian coaches.

“Okay naman. Sinakyan natin kanina. ‘Yun talaga ang objective natin na makita natin ang kaniyang performance. Regular operations po siya,” Batan told reporters.

[They’re OK. We rode them awhile ago. That’s really our objective — to see their performance. They’re on regular operations already.]

The 48 cars were purchased under the Aquino administration, but they stored in the MRT 3 depot for three years due to compatibility issues.

Batan also said that the Dalian coaches that were deployed were the first to complete the battery of required tests to guarantee the safety of passengers.

According to Batan, the tests include running the coaches for at least 1,000 kilometers. /atm