INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Two additional coaches for the Metro Rail Transit III (MRT-3) were deployed early this month to improve its service.
The coaches were previously on standby at the depot. The regular deployment was implemented in the first week of June upon the orders of its officer-in-charge Honorito Chaneco, shortly after he assumed responsibility over MRT-3.
“We welcome MRT-3’s report that it has increased the number of running coaches from 18 to 20, which translates to an increased capacity of 2,364 passengers per hour per peak direction. Passenger convenience is of course always a concern, so we hope this helps riders somewhat in their daily commute by reducing their queuing time and taking them to their destinations faster,” said Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Jun Abaya in a statement on Thursday.
A report by MRT-3 said the transit line now has a carrying capacity of 20,094 from 17,730 passengers per hour per peak direction.
“When I was made responsible for MRT-3’s operations; my priority was to look for technical solutions which would improve services within the system’s limitations. One of our first actions was to deploy these additional coaches. This necessarily included an adjustment to train timetables, which took about a week to do. We also began implementing the skipping train scheme, which we have been doing for LRT 1 and 2,” said Chaneco.
Skipping trains go straight to congested station once it becomes overcrowded.
From 2015 to 2017, 48 brand new coaches will be delivered in tranches to address the MRT-3 problems. As stated in the contract, the train supplier has 18 months or until the third quarter of 2015 to deliver its prototype unit for testing before the rest of the coaches arrive on a monthly basis.
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