The Department of Transportation (DoTr) began deploying three four-car Dalian trains at the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 on 18 October, extending the use of the higher-capacity trains to weekends.

In a statement, the DoTr said the weekend deployment is part of efforts to improve passenger convenience and follows a successful pilot test on Friday.

During the pilot, six four-car Dalian trains were operated during the morning rush hour from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., in line with the directive of acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez.

The MRT-3 noted that the four-car trains can accommodate more passengers per trip than the standard three-car trains, which will effectively increase capacity and shorten passenger buildup in stations.

A four-car Dalian train was first deployed on the MRT-3 in late August.

The expanded use comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced in his State of the Nation Address last month that his administration was working to operationalize the Dalian trains.

The 48 train sets were originally purchased in 2014 but remained largely unused due to reported incompatibility issues with the rail system until recently.