Light at the end of the tunnel?

Commuters have every reason to be optimistic that their daily ordeal in taking the  MRT3 along EDSA would soon be over.

That's because the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Metro Rail Transit management have already begun the assembly of the new train set prototype from a Chinese company, CNR Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. Ltd. 

The prototype of three train coaches will still undergo a series of tests until the end of the year. After it passes the series of tests conducted by MRT engineers, 48 train coaches will be added to the current 73 available train coaches. This means that at peak hours on day and night there will be 30 train sets compared to the 20 train sets currently running.

An estimated 540,000 commuters use the MRT Line 3 at peak hours daily but once the new train sets undergo testing, the transit system would be able to accommodate 900,000 commuters.

By the first half of next year, when the new train sets begin operation, then we can expect riding the MRT, which has seen better days and already prone to frequent breakdowns, to be more comfortable.

But will the imminent upgrade of the MRT3 improve the transport system and reduce traffic congestion in Metro Manila, and therefore we can see light at the end of the tunnel? We really hope so.

Meantime, commuters and motorists will simply have to have the patience of Job and wait for the transport and traffic situation to improve. That is, if the DOTC and other concerned government agencies are able to get their act together and deliver what is expected of them.

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