Reicelene Joy Ignacio | The Manila Times | March 19, 2018

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said 12 trains of the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) were running on Sunday, more than the usual trains deployed on regular days but still short of the 15 trains targeted for operation by May this year.

As of 10 a.m. yesterday, the 12 trains were running with a headway of seven minutes. The MRT-3 started operations on Sunday at 5 a.m. with six operational trains and a headway of 10 minutes.

The MRT-3 has been a target of criticism for operating with only eight or even lesser trains in the past weeks, resulting in long lines of passengers at its major stations along EDSA.

On Saturday, the MRT-3 was able to operate 11 trains, serving 235,260 passengers within the day. It also recorded 1,927 kilometers in total distance traveled, with only one unloading incident.

Meanwhile, the 48 trains from Dalian, China, still need further testing, according to international certification body TUV Rheinland.

"According to TUV Rheinland, the weighing test should be done to eliminate any doubts, and so DOTr MRT-3 can witness and formally sign off the trains' weight," the agency said in a statement.

"Only after applying all recommendations and taking all the necessary steps to assess the serviceability and safety of the Dalian trains will we know if it is indeed safe to run the trains for revenue operations," it added.