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MRT Line 3 (Metro Manila)
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MRT Line 3 (Metro Manila)
The Manila Metro Rail Transit Line 3, also known as the MRT Line 3 or MRT-3, is a rapid transit line in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The line runs in an orbital north to south route following the alignment of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). Despite its name, the line is more akin to a light rapid transit system owing to its tram-like rolling stock while having total grade separation and high passenger throughput. Originally known as the Metrostar Express or the Blue Line, the line was reclassified to be the Yellow Line in 2012.
Envisioned in the 1970s and 1980s as part of various feasibility studies, the 13-station, 16.9-kilometer (10.5 mi) line was the second rapid transit line to be built in Metro Manila when it started full operations in 2000. The line is owned and operated by the Philippine government's Department of Transportation (DOTr). It was previously owned by the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) under a 25-year build–lease–transfer agreement with the DOTr, which expired on July 15, 2025.
The line is integrated with the public transit system in Metro Manila, where passengers also take various forms of road-based public transport, such as buses, to and from a station to reach their intended destination. Serving close to 375,000 passengers on a daily basis, the line is the busiest among Metro Manila's three rapid transit lines. Total ridership significantly exceeds its built maximum capacity of 350,000 passengers a day, with various solutions being proposed or implemented to alleviate chronic congestion. Expanding the network's capacity to accommodate the rising number of passengers is currently set on tackling this problem.
In 1973, the Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency (OTCA; predecessor of the Japan International Cooperation Agency) presented a plan to construct five subway lines in Metro Manila. The study was known as the Urban Transport Study in the Manila Metropolitan Area. One of the five lines, Line 3, was planned as a 24.3-kilometer (15.1 mi) line along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), the region's busiest road corridor. The plan would have resolved the traffic problems of Metro Manila and would have taken 15 years to complete.
Another study by JICA was presented in 1976 which included the five lines proposed in 1973. The study recommended heavy rail due to the rising population.
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 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 the previous 1973 OTCA study, the 1976 JICA study, and the 1977 Freeman Fox and Associates study, which was used as the basis for the LRT Line 1.
The project was restarted as a light rail project in 1989. DOTC planned to construct a light railway transit line along EDSA, a major thoroughfare in Metropolitan Manila, which would traverse Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Pasay. The plan, referred to as EDSA Light Rail Transit III (EDSA LRT III), was intended to provide a mass transit system along EDSA and alleviate the congestion and growing transportation problems in the metropolis. On March 3, 1990, a letter of intent was sent by Eli Levin Enterprises, Inc., represented by Elijahu Levin, to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), now Department of Transportation (DOTr), secretary Oscar Orbos, proposing to construct the EDSA LRT III on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
On July 9, 1990, President Corazon Aquino signed Republic Act No. 6957, simply known as the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law; it took exactly three months later. The government then published an invitation to pre-qualify and bid for the project on February 21, 1991. Five groups responded to the invitation: ABB Trazione of Italy, Hopewell Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong, Mansteel International of Mandaue, Cebu, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. of Japan, and EDSA LRT Consortium, composed of ten foreign and domestic corporations. EDSA LRT Consortium was the sole firm that passed the pre-qualification process, and submitted its proposal to the DOTC on July 16. The Build-Lease-Transfer (BLT) agreement was signed on November 7.
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MRT Line 3 (Metro Manila)
The Manila Metro Rail Transit Line 3, also known as the MRT Line 3 or MRT-3, is a rapid transit line in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The line runs in an orbital north to south route following the alignment of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). Despite its name, the line is more akin to a light rapid transit system owing to its tram-like rolling stock while having total grade separation and high passenger throughput. Originally known as the Metrostar Express or the Blue Line, the line was reclassified to be the Yellow Line in 2012.
Envisioned in the 1970s and 1980s as part of various feasibility studies, the 13-station, 16.9-kilometer (10.5 mi) line was the second rapid transit line to be built in Metro Manila when it started full operations in 2000. The line is owned and operated by the Philippine government's Department of Transportation (DOTr). It was previously owned by the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) under a 25-year build–lease–transfer agreement with the DOTr, which expired on July 15, 2025.
The line is integrated with the public transit system in Metro Manila, where passengers also take various forms of road-based public transport, such as buses, to and from a station to reach their intended destination. Serving close to 375,000 passengers on a daily basis, the line is the busiest among Metro Manila's three rapid transit lines. Total ridership significantly exceeds its built maximum capacity of 350,000 passengers a day, with various solutions being proposed or implemented to alleviate chronic congestion. Expanding the network's capacity to accommodate the rising number of passengers is currently set on tackling this problem.
In 1973, the Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency (OTCA; predecessor of the Japan International Cooperation Agency) presented a plan to construct five subway lines in Metro Manila. The study was known as the Urban Transport Study in the Manila Metropolitan Area. One of the five lines, Line 3, was planned as a 24.3-kilometer (15.1 mi) line along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), the region's busiest road corridor. The plan would have resolved the traffic problems of Metro Manila and would have taken 15 years to complete.
Another study by JICA was presented in 1976 which included the five lines proposed in 1973. The study recommended heavy rail due to the rising population.
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 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 the previous 1973 OTCA study, the 1976 JICA study, and the 1977 Freeman Fox and Associates study, which was used as the basis for the LRT Line 1.
The project was restarted as a light rail project in 1989. DOTC planned to construct a light railway transit line along EDSA, a major thoroughfare in Metropolitan Manila, which would traverse Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Pasay. The plan, referred to as EDSA Light Rail Transit III (EDSA LRT III), was intended to provide a mass transit system along EDSA and alleviate the congestion and growing transportation problems in the metropolis. On March 3, 1990, a letter of intent was sent by Eli Levin Enterprises, Inc., represented by Elijahu Levin, to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), now Department of Transportation (DOTr), secretary Oscar Orbos, proposing to construct the EDSA LRT III on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.
On July 9, 1990, President Corazon Aquino signed Republic Act No. 6957, simply known as the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law; it took exactly three months later. The government then published an invitation to pre-qualify and bid for the project on February 21, 1991. Five groups responded to the invitation: ABB Trazione of Italy, Hopewell Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong, Mansteel International of Mandaue, Cebu, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. of Japan, and EDSA LRT Consortium, composed of ten foreign and domestic corporations. EDSA LRT Consortium was the sole firm that passed the pre-qualification process, and submitted its proposal to the DOTC on July 16. The Build-Lease-Transfer (BLT) agreement was signed on November 7.
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