MRT to shut down early this weekend

MANILA, Philippines—Amid glitches, the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3) management will close early on Saturday and open late the next day to give way for rail replacement, an official told the House of Representatives panel Wednesday.

During the transportation committee hearing, the new MRT General Manager Roman Buenafe said 150 meters will be replaced over the weekend between Taft and Magallanes stations.

Buenafe said this is the first of their series of replacements in a bid to fix all the broken rails, seen as the main cause of the railway glitches.

This means that for every temporary shutdown, the MRT will undergo replacement to fix the 6,000 meters of rails that are in critical condition, Buenafe added.

The MRT will close on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 9 p.m. and open later the next day, March 1, at 12 noon, Buenafe said.

“This has not been done before,” Buenafe said of the scale of this weekend’s rail replacement.

Committee chair Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento lauded the MRT for its plan and said he hoped the rail replacement would be implemented to finally fix the MRT glitches.

“The MRT riders are very concerned… Make sure ang sinasabi niyo ay magagampanan niyo,” he said.