EVER since the government kicked Busan Universal Rail Inc. out of the picture, the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 has plummeted to worse conditions, as the government lacked expertise on how to properly manage and maintain a railway system.
This was how MRT Holdings Inc. Chairman Robert John L. Sobrepeña explained the recent mishaps—some were more dangerous than the others—at the rail-way system over the last week.
“The issues stem from a number of things. First, there’s management expertise to know what to do and how to do it. Second—and more important—you need to have a lot of parts and logistics,” he told the BusinessMirror.
Sobrepeña cited Sumitomo Corp.’s experience in the upkeep of the train line back from 2000 to 2012, saying that it is the most efficient way in maintaining the railway system. “When we were there, we were looking at $50 million for spare parts, and there’s no way that the government can do that now—they don’t have the budget for that short term,” he said. “And how can they improve if these spare parts and logistics are not available?”
The government is currently maintaining the railway facility after it decided to terminate its contract with Busan Rail for incompetence.
For Sobrepeña, maintaining a train line without proper knowledge on it would mean headaches and hardships for the government.
“It’s going to be uphill for them. It’s going to be tough,” he said. “I hope somehow they get something done.” As of press time, officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) cannot be reached for comment.
‘Not ready’
Busan Rail External Legal Counsel Maricris B. Pahate added that the lesser number of trains running on the tracks, and the uncoupling of a train car from another, only prove that the DOTr is not capable of maintaining the train line.
“These show that the DOTr doesn’t appear ready to assume our work,” she said.
Transportation Undersecretary for Rails Cesar B. Chavez has since ordered the reduction of the number of revenue trains on weekdays from 20 sets to 15 sets, all of which should run at 40 kilometer per hour.
Headway—or the waiting time for the incoming train—was also targeted to be at five and a half minutes, making travel time from the two ending stations in Pasay and Quezon City reach one hour and 17 minutes. The intention of the transportation department is to bid out a new maintenance contract—supposedly having a five-year concession period—within the next six months, while its transition team is onboard with the maintenance.
While this seems the quickest way to solve the maintenance issue, Sobrepeña believes that the government has a better option.
“There’s a shorter way. Under our contract, we can appoint immediately a maintenance contractor. Sumitomo is willing to do it,” he said. “There’s a short and fast way.”
Sobrepeña’s group controls the MRT Corp., the private concessionaire for the train line’s build-lease-transfer agreement.
“The bidding process at the least will take six months. It’s only been six days, and look at what happened,” he said.
The group of Sobrepeña has submitted an $800-million investment proposal that involves three phases.
Under its proposal, the private-sector concessionaire will start fixing the train line’s immediate problems, namely the system’s dilapidated rails, outdated signaling system and its failing train cars.
The next phase involves the upgrade of the whole system, which costs about $400 million. It involves the replacement of all elevators, escalators and the makeover of the stations.
MRT Holdings will also buy 48 new cars to double its capacity so that 1 million to 1.2 million passengers could ride the train system daily.
The third phase involves the linking of the MRT to the Light Rail Transit Line 1’s Monumento Station.
To date, this proposal has yet to be approved or rejected by the transportation department.