As trains of the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) undergoes maintenance checks from June 14 onwards, the management announced that fewer trains will be used in the next few days. Rather the usual 20 trains, only 15 trains will be running until the check is finished, Train speed will also be limited to 20 km/h, slower than the usual 40 km/h.
According to an Inquirer report, the maintenance check which will run from June 14 to June 18 ensures a “thorough inspection” of the fleet.
Inspection Needed After Strange Sounds And Excessive Swaying
Deo Manalo, MRT-3 director for operations, told the Inquirer that one of the trains reportedly made “strange sounds” and was observed to be swaying “excessively.” This incident happened on Tuesday night and because of this, passengers were offloaded at the Santolan station.
After checking the train, officials found out that the axle of the bogie system under the driver’s coach had broken off. The bogie system is the framework that holds the wheels of the train. Manalo, however, said that it still too early to tell if the axle broke due to issues of mechanics, maintenance or design.
The train’s current maintenance provider, Busan Universal Rail, Inc., will check all the trains, focusing on the axles of the other trains. The check is expected to be done before June 19. This will ensure that the incident on Tuesday will not happen again. Manalo insists that this is the first time something such as this happened.
Fewer, Slower Trains Means Longer Lines And Longer Travel Time
MRT-3 currently is the busiest train line in Metro Manila. According to Manalo, it serves over 450,000 passengers a day, so he is also asking for “patience and understanding” from passengers.
Slower trains mean that instead of the usual 35 minutes from North Avenue to Taft Avenue, it now takes 50 minutes. Fewer trains also signify longer queues in all the stations and longer waiting time before getting a ride.
The rail line has been experiencing numerous breakdowns during the past months, causing hardship on the lives of daily commuters.