By Azer N. Parrocha
MANILA, July 27 (PNA) — It might have taken over five years under the Aquino administration to carry out, but passengers taking the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) system will finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
In his sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, President Benigno Aquino III cited how “long-term solutions” for the MRT-3 are finally underway.
“Paparating na rin ang mas malalaki at pangmatagalang solusyon,” the President said, referring to the new prototype train car for the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) system scheduled to arrive next month.
Shipment is scheduled to push through on July 29 while the prototype is expected to arrive at the Port of Manila between August 10 to 14.
It will be assembled upon reaching the country while its unit’s components such as the doors, seats, poles, and hand straps will meanwhile undergo testing in mid-November.
President Aquino said the MRT-3 new prototype train car is only the first of the 48 brand new train cars that will be delivered starting in the first quarter of 2016.
He also mentioned how the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) are working to expand the scope of the recently implemented “beep card” ticketing system to other Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) stations.
The beep ticketing system, also known as the “tap-and-go” ticketing system and the Contactless Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) is expected to shorten queuing time for the riding public and at the same time, modernize the country’s system to catch up with foreign neighbors.
It is also DOTC’s first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project under the Aquino administration.
Among other upgrades and rehabilitation work President Aquino mentioned in his SONA for the country’s rail sector include the processing of new rail tracks, upgrades in signaling systems, stable power supply, escalators, and elevators. (PNA)