More Dalian trains tested

Vernadeth de los Santos · Jan 28, 2019, 8:00 AM

THE third batch of Dalian trains made in China will undergo 150 hours of Metro Rail Transit 3 test runs. FILE PHOTO

The Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT3) yesterday started a 150-hour validation test — from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. until 1 February — for the third set of China-made Dalian trains.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) said that the third set has recently completed its 1,000-kilometer commission test prior to its deployment.

The MRT3 deployed the first China-made train from October to November 2018, while the second was tested in December last year.

A total of 48 Dalian train coaches were delivered in 2016, but remained unused due to compatibility issues that are now being threshed out.

The new coaches were part of the MRT3 expansion project aimed at decongesting the railway system and increasing its capacity to serve over 800,000 passengers daily.

The other MRT trains are still undergoing repairs and tests to meet the DoTr’s criteria after the trains were deemed incompatible for the MRT3 line when they arrived in 2016.

So far, only one train with three coaches is being used regularly by commuters after it passed the tests. Dalian has since agreed to pay for the trains’ revamp.