The Department of Transportation is looking to add three more train sets to the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 to boost its services, especially amid the looming rehabilitation of the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue. — File photo
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is planning to add three more train sets to the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) to boost its services, especially amid the looming rehabilitation of the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (Edsa).
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said during Malacañang’s press briefing on Friday, noting that they are in communication with Sumitomo Corporation, the provider of MRT-3’s train sets.
“Of course when it comes to trains, we already have 20 trains as of now, but as we mentioned this week, we want to add three more trains. We are currently in talks with Sumitomo Corporation of Japan to increase our trains, of course without compromising the safety of the system, the safety of the trains,” Dizon said.
“You also know that we extended the nighttime operation hours of our trains a few weeks ago,” he added.)
READ: MRT-3: Extended weekday operations maintained ‘indefinitely’
Dizon also touted the MRT-3’s adjustment to cashless transactions even for single journey tickets, which keeps queues shorter than usual. Furthermore, Dizon said the DOTr is also preparing a cashless turnstile system, where commuters do not have to line up at ticketing stations, and instead pay directly from their smartphones.
The cashless turnstiles, the DOTr chief said, will be implemented by July 2025.
“The government also has to check on the small things, not only the big-ticket projects, I know that for DOTr you expect us to report on the big projects, and we will do that but as President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) said, we need to focus on the things that sometimes, we fail to give attention to,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“This is also a big aspect, I am also confused why this was not implemented immediately, this cashless option at the MRT […] in fact this was implemented in just two weeks. The good thing about this is we have plans to improve the system, we will have cashless turnstiles, the turnstiles that can accept different cashless payment systems. I think this will be implemented by July if I’m not mistaken,” Dizon added.
All these, the DOTr head said, are still in line with the President’s directive to make traveling around the metro and other areas easier for the commuting public.
READ: Marcos wants commuters shielded from ‘abusive’ drivers – Palace
The MRT-3 and the Edsa busway are expected to play crucial roles as traffic is expected to build up once the rehabilitation of Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare commences.
READ: DOTr bets on MRT 3, busway to ease traffic with Edsa rehab
Several sectors, including incumbent lawmakers, have already asked the government to prepare better for the Edsa rehabilitation, which will start on June 16.
Senators urged the DOTr and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to conduct a massive information drive about the policies that the government will adopt to lessen the inconvenience that the two-year Edsa Rebuild project would cause to the public, like the proposed odd-even scheme and the reinstated No Contact Apprehension Policy. /das