MRTC 3000 class


The MRTC 3000 class or ČKD Tatra RT8D5M LRV, also known as Tatra Train, is a class of high-floor light rail vehicles built by Czech tram manufacturer ČKD Tatra. It is currently used at Manila Metro Rail Transit System Line 3 and were the last made by ČKD Tatra before it was taken over by Siemens.
ČKD Tatra RT8D5M LRVs are owned by Metro Rail Transit Corporation, and operated by the Department of Transportation thru DOTr MRT-3.

Purchase

In line with the construction of the Manila Line 3 in the 1990s, ČKD Tatra was chosen by the Metro Rail Transit Corporation to supply the new trains after the consortium won the project.
Aside from a prototype, 73 light rail cars are produced by ČKD in two batches; 49 were produced in 1998 and the other 29 were completed the following year.
The first train was flown into Manila via plane while the remainder were transported by sea. The fleet also happens to be the last produced by ČKD before it was taken over by Siemens.

Design

Structure

The LRV design is a one-way eight-axle motorized car consisting of three articulations, which are connected to each other by the joint and the cover. Each rail car is provided with five double leaf, electronically-operated plug-sliding doors. The three center doors have an open width of 1,255 mm, while the two end doors measures at 861 mm.
Unlike the prototype 0029, these cars have rounded "foreheads" or beveled large windows at both ends.
The trains wear a livery consisting of royal blue, red, and white. Under the "Metrostar Express" branding, the white portion contains the brand logo and lettering on the sides. However, since 2012, the branding has since been unused. The trains also usually wore wrap ads—unlike the LRTA 1200 class which wear ads as a whole trainset, the 3000 class are seen to wear wrap ads per car.

Interior

Each train can seat 80 passengers and under crush loading conditions, each car can carry 394 commuters at any one time. Seats are longitudinal-type.

Prototype RT8D5 0029

In March 1996 the first three-car tram was tested in Prague under the number 0029 as a prototype. It was a development of the Tatra KT8D5; 0029 retained its control, proportions, the front and rear sections, and unlike the later production vehicles, designed for bidirectional operation. Prototype 0029 remained in Prague and it was used in October to November 1998 together with the Tatra-T5A5 prototype, tram no. 0013, and the T3 no. 6663 for various crash tests in the main workshop in Hostivař before being eventually scrapped.

Operations

The trains run at a maximum speed of, and run through standard rail tracks. The RT8D5M operates as built on the high-speed city rail system with high platforms and in tropical conditions. The vehicles are mainly operated in threes, and operations with four-car trainsets had been planned.

Refurbishments

On May 1 2019, the overall rehabilitation of the entire MRTC 3000 class fleet of 72 cars was started by the Sumitomo Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and TES Philippines Inc., which consists of the installation of new choppers, wheels, pantographs and air conditioning units from Thermo King; and the repainting of the train's exteriors and interiors, with the overall refurbishment program of the trains are expected to be completed on 2021.

Incidents