San Miguel Corporation (SMC) installed over the weekend the first batch of trainsets for its Metro Rail Transit (MRT)-7 project.
The trainsets, which SMC ordered from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem, recently arrived at the Port of Manila. These are the first batch of the six trainsets that the company expects to arrive this year.
The company installed the first trainset on Saturday and the second one on Sunday on the MRT-7 tracks between University Avenue and Tandang Sora in Quezon City.
“Our engineers and workers assigned to unload the trains have been at the site since early Saturday morning and will be there until the whole process is completed the following day. We have to be very thorough during the whole process to ensure that it is done efficiently and quickly while inspections are continuously being done,” SMC president Ramon S. Ang said.
“We are working round-the-clock to meet the first test run by next year. We know that our countrymen are eagerly awaiting the formal opening of the MRT-7 so that they can experience faster, more efficient, and comfortable travel. This is even more crucial during the pandemic when additional transportation options are required to bring people safely to work and back to their homes,”he added.
SMC said that the MRT-7 project is now 55.3% complete, despite pandemic restrictions and pending right-of-way issues. The company said that workers have already completed the installation of bored piles, girders, and other foundational works.
The MRT-7 aims to reduce travel time from Quezon City to Bulacan to just 35 minutes, a luxury for daily commuters whose usual trips take hours due to traffic congestion and limited transport options.
SMC ordered a total of 36 trainsets or 108 cars from Hyundai ROTEM. The trainsets arrived in Manila last September 6 following extensive inspections and factory acceptance testing. South Korea’s national rail manufacturer, Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), served as SMC’s adviser.
“South Korea has one of the world’s best railway transport systems and the arrival and eventual use of these trains for the MRT-7 will put our transportation system in NCR and overall infrastructure development, several notches higher,” Ang said.