Manila Metro Rail Transit System

The Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRTS), commonly known as the MRT, is a rapid transit system that primarily serves Metro Manila, Philippines. Along with the Manila Light Rail Transit System and the Metro Commuter Line of the Philippine National Railways, the system makes up Metro Manila's rail infrastructure.

The MRT's 16.9-kilometer-route consists of 1 line and 13 stations (in operation). The first and the only line currently in operation, MRT Line 3, was opened in December 1999 and completed in July 2000, currently owned by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), after the 25-year build-lease-transfer agreement between DOTr and the Metro Rail Transit Corporation expired in July 2025.

Since then, most of the newly proposed rapid rail lines within Metro Manila that are not under the jurisdiction of the Light Rail Transit Authority are associated with the "MRT" brand. This includes the Metro Manila Subway (Line 9) and the elevated Line 7 which are being built as of January 2023.

There is currently only one light metro/light rail line in operation but there are three heavy rail lines under construction. In recent years, there are proposals to extend the system. The system is intended to have seven lines as of 2019, with at least 49 stations across 124.4 kilometers (77.3 mi) of track. Until 2019, almost all proposed lines were given odd numbers.

Not included is MRT Line 7's proposed circumferential–radial network, as well as Lines 8, 10, and 11. These are still awaiting approval as of 2025^[update].

The system is open from 4:40 a.m. PHT (UTC+8) until 10:10 p.m. on a daily basis. During Holy Week, a public holiday in the Philippines, the rail system is closed for annual maintenance, owing to fewer commuters and traffic around the metro. Normal operation resumes after Easter Sunday. During the Christmas and year-end holidays, the operating hours of the line are shortened due to the low ridership of the line during the holidays.

During the construction of the first line of the Manila Light Rail Transit System in the early 1980s, Electrowatt Engineering Services of Zürich designed a comprehensive plan for a metro service in Metro Manila. The plan—still used as the basis for planning new metro lines—consisted of a 150-kilometer (93 mi) network of rapid transit lines spanning all major corridors within 20 years. The study integrated two studies in the 1970s which recommended the construction of five heavy rail lines in Metro Manila, and another study in 1977 which was used as the basis for the LRT Line 1.

The first line, the MRT Line 3, began construction in October 1996 after the Metro Rail Transit Corporation, a consortium of local companies, was awarded a build-lease-transfer contract. In 1997, MRTC entered into a turnkey contract with Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the line's construction. Sumitomo and Mitsubishi subcontracted EEI Corporation for the civil works, while a separate agreement was signed with ČKD Tatra for the rolling stock. Funding for the project was sourced from loans from various banks in Japan and the Czech Republic, with the help of JP Morgan. The Department of Transportation and Communications (later the Department of Transportation) hired SYSTRA for the consultancy services, while the MRTC hired ICF Kaiser Engineers and Constructors to provide program management and technical oversight of the services for the design, construction management, and commissioning.