Mary Chol Marquez | International Business Times | September 14, 2016

Busan Universal Inc. (Busan Manila), the maintenance provider of Metro Rail Transit Line 3, is set to add trains by December 2016. Busan Manila counsel and spokesman Charles Perfecto Mercado said the government wants to have 20 trains from the existing 16 to 18 trains.

"The target of Busan is to meet 20 running trains and have two reserve cars by the end of the year," Business World reported Mercado as saying. He added that the company is outperforming its contract with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC).

Busan Manila first took over the maintenance of the MRT-3 starting January 2016 after it was granted the P3.81-billion, 3-year MRT-3 maintenance deal by the DoTC in Dec. 23, 2015. It partnered with Busan Transportation Corp., Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., Tmicorp Inc. and Castan Corp.

Starting February, Busan Manila restored enough rail cars to bring the trains to 16 from only 13 trains at three cars per train. By April, Busan Manila increased the number of operational cars, which totalled to 62 operational cars in 18 trains.

"We are really dreaming together with the government. We are planning, looking at ways to modernize the system and to increase the comfort, safety [of passengers] and smoothness of travel," Mercado said. He added that the company is ready once the government decides to add more trains.

Mercado also said that the MRT-3 only has a capacity of carrying 350,000 passengers, but it currently serves 650,000 daily. It runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

Busan Manila has been operating and maintaining Busan Metro, the four railway lines of the mass transit system in Busan, South Korea since 1999.

What do you think of the Busan Manila to add more trains for MRT-3 by 2016? Do you think it would affect the SME sector?