MRT-3 to deploy four-car train sets

MANILA, Philippines — In response to rising commuter demand, the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) will add one more car to its three-car trains by June or upon the completion of facilities required to accommodate a four-car train configuration.

“Come June, the extension of the Taft (Avenue station) pocket track will be completed in preparation for the deployment of four-car train sets in our rail line,” MRT-3 general manager Oscar Bongon said in a recent interview over Radyo Pilipinas.

He said a turnback facility capable of accommodating a four-car MRT-3 train set is being constructed by Japanese maintenance contractor Sumitomo at the North Avenue station.

Sumitomo is also in charge of improving the rail tracks, signaling system and the catenary system that supplies electricity to the trains, Bongon said.

Once completed in June, “we can now test four-car train sets running in the line,” he said.

A three-car MRT-3 train set can carry 1,182 passengers. A four-car train set can carry 1,576 people. At present, the MRT-3 has 18 to 20 three-car train sets, 12 to 14 of which are running.

The MRT-3 logged a daily average of 375,474 passengers in 2024.

Last week, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Romando Artes revealed a plan to add another car to the MRT’s three-car set amid the planned removal of the EDSA Carousel.

The proposed removal of the busway, however, did not sit well with various sectors, particularly commuters and business groups.

The Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over the MRT-3, said the EDSA busway would not be removed.

Four-car trains were first deployed in 2022 along EDSA, but only during rush hour.

The expansion of train capacity is part of a two-year rehabilitation program for the rail system, which also involves refurbishing 72 light rail vehicles.