MRT congestion versus traffic

The government’s plan to buy more trains stemmed from commuter congestion at MRT 3 stations as a result of higher fuel prices and record-high inflation. Costlier fuel and food have forced many, including car owners, to use trains and other public vehicles to save on expenses. The situation [procurement of more trains] is a matter of public interest, public concern, and it is dangerous already [given the passenger congestion]. The government will buy [the trains] if they will not acquire additional trains. The government intends to buy 73 light-rail cars with three minutes headway or four-car trains with 2.5 minutes headway, which cost $3 million each. We are ready [to buy] but it will take another three years if you will order a new car from the time you order and to the time of delivery. We are looking at second-hand cars. At present, MRT 3 uses three-car trains with three minutes headway. The additional trains are expected to be delivered by 2009 and will be operational by 2010. MRT 3 has exceeded its daily passenger capacity. The railway line is designed to carry only about 22,500 passengers per peak hour per direction, but that existing demand has ballooned to 26,500 passengers. The maximum load of 22,500 was breached in 2004. Emergency capacity expansion is needed to meet the projected per peak-hour demand of 30,031 passengers by 2010. MRT 3 was built to speed up the commute and alleviate chronic traffic congestion along EDSA. But the current capacity of the railway line is inadequate to meet the first goal, let alone the second. The line’s tracks run almost the entire stretch of the avenue. Currently, MRT 3 has a fleet of 73 Czech-made air-conditioned cars, of which up to 60 three-car trains operate daily. The trains run at a top speed of 65 kilometers per hour to cover 13 stations in about 30 minutes, stopping for 25 seconds to 35 seconds per station. The government plans to expand the North Avenue station to prevent passenger congestion there. The station is the northernmost in the MRT 3 line. The government plans to spend P100 million to acquire a 500-square meter land beside the North Avenue station and put a two-story building there. To decongest its stations during peak hours, MRTA has decided to extend operations between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. and between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. At present, the peak hours are between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., during which 20 three-car trains leave every three minutes. At the North Avenue station, the busiest station during the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. rush-hour period, about 23,000 to 25,000 passengers climbed onboard going south. The system uses 15 three-car trains that roll on every five minutes. The maintenance operator of MRT 3 has granted the request of the government to extend the peak-hour period and for the operator to deploy additional trains at no cost. The government is also studying deployment of additional trains beyond the peak hours to ease overcrowding in the stations. With a daily ridership of at least 470,000, the government pays at least P19.74 million a day at the minimum fare of P10 per person. MRT 3 collects an average of P4 million to P5 million a day.