DOTr studying how to accelerate MRT3 rehab

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is now looking at how it can finish the rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) ahead of its deadline in July 2021.

This, as the halt in operations of the busy railway system due to the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon gave the government and its contractor Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries more time for the repair and rehabilitation works of the MRT3.

“Sa MRT3, dahil sa ECQ ang pwede naming gawin kung paano namin ma-accelerate. Supposedly 2021 pa matatapos ‘yung trabaho but since ngayon masyado nang marami ang oras para pwede natin i-advance ang trabaho,” Philippine National Railways General Manager Junne Magno said in a virtual press briefing on Thursday.

The 43-month rehabilitation and maintenance of the MRT3 kicked off in May 2019. 

A total of 72 light rail vehicles (LRVs) of MRT3 undergo general overhaul.

The project also involves replacement of all rail tracks; rehabilitation of power and overhead catenary systems; upgrade of the signaling system, communications and CCTV systems; and repair all of escalators and elevators.

Through the rehab project, the DOTr is targeting to increase the number of operating trains from 15 to 20 at peak hours, double the train operating speed from 30 to 60 kilometers per hour, and reduce by half the headway or time between trains from 7-10 minutes to 3.5 minutes.

In 2018, the Philippines and Japan signed an P18-billion loan agreement for the MRT3 rehab and maintenance project. 

The total cost of the rehabilitation is P21.96 billion, of which P18.76 billion is official development assistance (ODA) loan from JICA. The balance of P3.19 billion will be funded locally.

The P18.76-billion loan—roughly ¥38 billion—carries an interest rate of 0.1 percent per year, with a repayment period of 28 years after a grace period of 12 years. —LDF, GMA News