Gov't eyes used trains to double MRT load

The transportation department is set to buy more trains to double the capacity of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) to cope with increasing passenger traffic. Fil-Estate chief executive Robert John Sobrepeña on Wednesday said the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) is set to hold a bidding to add more trains to the MRT that will nearly double its capacity from 350,000 to 600,000 passengers daily. "The DOTC will be bidding for 24 to 48 trains. These will be second-hand, refurbished trains," Sobrepeña said. He said the trains will be delivered in a year. Sobrepeña said that the MRT is currently struggling to handle its 480,000 daily users. Fil-Estate has an equity interest in Metro Rail Transit Holdings Inc. and Metro Rail Transit Holdings 2. The two holding companies have a combined 28.5 percent stake in the Metro Manila train line, which runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City. -GMANews.TV