The Metro Rail Transit-3 line deployed a train set in a four-car configuration for the first time at 7 am Monday, the first day of a month-long free ride until April 30 to commuters.

President Rodrigo Duterte announced on March 22 the free rides during the completion ceremony for the Japan-funded Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) Rehabilitation Project.

MRT-3 OIC-General Manager and Director for Operations Michael Capati led the deployment of the train set at 7 am during the morning peak hour operation.

As of 11: 41 am, MRT-3 said 17 3-car CKD trains, one four-car train and one Dalian train were running. The headway is 4.5 minutes. Capati said the trip from North Avenue to Taft Avenue will reach 30 minutes instead of one hour.

A four-car train set is set to run later in the afternoon peak hours from 5 to 7 pm, he added.

''The deployment of trains with four cars each set helps augment the line's capacity,as they can carry up to a total of 1,576 passengers per train set. Each train car of a CKD train set can load up to 394 passengers, the Facebook page of MRT-3 said.

Capati said passengers must follow health and safety protocols.

Financed by the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the MRT-3 Rehabilitation project started in 2018 with Japanese contractors Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).

All MRT-3 facilities and equipment were renovated under the project, including replacement of worn out tracks, upgrading of signaling system, and overhaul of the Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs).

The rehabilitation increased the operating speed from 25kph to 60kph with 22 fully functioning LRVs. It is expected to benefit around 500,000 passengers daily.

“Now that we have accomplished its comprehensive rehabilitation, we can rely on the MRT-3 to run twice as fast without any untoward incident. This achievement of a fully rehabilitated railway will bring more convenience to many Filipino commuters,” said Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko. DMS