By Lorenz S. Marasigan
CLEANING up the mess at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 may take several years to finish, a task that could have been easily avoided if only the government did not mishandle the facility when it took over the maintenance component four years ago, according to MRT Holdings Inc. Chairman Robert John L. Sobrepeña.
Each of the train line’s stakeholders—from the owners to the government and down to the riding public—are all losers due to the government’s supposed mismanagement of the rail facility, he said.
The government, for example, lost at least P1.4 billion for awarding various maintenance contracts to different providers. Sadly, the company executive said, this does not include the economic cost of the dilapidated condition of the train system.
“If Sumitomo Corp. was allowed to continue its maintenance from October 2012 to January 2019, the cost of the maintenance would only be P7.5 billion. In contrast, the transportation department-appointed maintenance contracts have cost, and will cost, the government P8.9 billion, or a huge difference of around P1.4 billion,” he said.
The offer of the Japanese firm —the builder of the train facility —also came with the provision of spare parts, upgrade of the signalling system, overhauling and general maintenance. The government declined the proposal as it was “too expensive.”
“The recent maintenance contracts are truly disadvantageous to the government. If Sumitomo’s proposal was accepted, the MRT will be left without any problem on maintenance, parts, service and disruptions. We could have continually served the 600,000 riders on Edsa. We would not have this traffic mess on Edsa,” Sobrepeña said.
Currently, the train line is working at half its capacity. There are about 16 train sets operating at the MRT. This means that of the 73 light-rail vehicles that the train line has on its depot, only 48 train cars ply the North Edsa-Taft Avenue route.
Sobrepena also scored Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya for supposedly giving false hopes to the riding public, saying that the MRT projects that the government is currently undertaking are “rushed” to “cover up” the state’s errors in the past.
To be more specific, the train executive said the government entered into an unpropitious train supply contract with Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. of China to the tune of P3.8 billion.
“We have been warning for several years now that there is a great danger against the purchase of Chinese trains because of the fact that Dalian has never manufactured a double-articulated light-rail vehicle. The mistake of purchasing this will cost the government P3.76 billion, but more important, it may cost the lives of those who could be affected if the trains are not properly tested and set up in the system,” Sobrepeña said.
Apparently, the new trains from Dalian—the third car arriving any time soon—are not properly tested in China. The trains should have run at least 5,000 kilometers before being transported to the Philippines, a digest of the terms of reference of the contract showed.
“We’re quite worried. We feel this is a danger to the riding public, not to mention the danger to the train system itself,” the railway executive said.
To test run the new train cars, the coaches should run at about 65 kilometres per hour (km/ph). The transport department decided to move the testing here in the Philippines, on the very tracks of the MRT.
This according to Sobrepeña, would be a disservice to the public, as it poses grave danger to the train facility itself.
“The maximum speed of the MRT now is about 40 km/ph due to its tracks. Now, how are they going to test these trains with tracks that cannot accommodate 65 km/ph? These trains could derail, and it can fall on anyone along Edsa,” he explained.
Also, testing the new trains from China at the main line during non-revenue hours means that the railway facility “is not being maintained.”
“If we force these trains to run along our tracks, it could damage, or even destroy, the MRT. Metro Manila will be without a main line,” the businessman said.
Transportation officials earlier said the new trains are targeted to be deployed by end-March, assuring the public that relief on the mess at the railway facility is on its way.
“The announcement is grossly irresponsible. They are giving the wrong information to the public and getting the hopes of people up. If they force to use it, it will be a danger to the riding public,” Sobrepeña said.
For all these, the owners of the train line are seriously weighing their legal options on how to move forward with the government’s mishandling of their asset, although the private company is still open to reconciliation.
Abaya said the allegations of Sobrepeña only point out one thing: that the private owner of the train facility is trying to find a scapegoat for its mistakes.
“Maybe he should read the contracts first. If he only did his responsibility and his obligations to the people, then maybe he can answer his questions,” he said in a text message to the BusinessMirror.
The MRT is in a chronic state of decay, with the 16-year-old trains already maxed out of their rated capacities and the rails already experiencing difficulties in handling hundreds of thousands of passengers per day. Several proposals from the private sector have been submitted before the transport department, sadly, none of them has been responded to with clarity.
1 comment
Sheer incompetence and corruption of the past administration