MRT-3 breakdown seen to continue until next year

MANILA, Philippines - Transportation officials admitted yesterday that there would be no relief from possible breakdowns for the more than 500,000 daily riders of Metro Rail Transit 3 until late 2015.

MRT-3 officer-in-charge Renato San Jose told the House committee on transportation and communications that planned improvements on MRT-3, the rail line along EDSA, would be undertaken next year.

He said such improvements include the replacement of six kilometers of rails, procurement of traction motors and the upgrading of the signaling network, which detects problems with the entire rail system.

He said the improvement projects would be funded under the proposed P2.606-trillion 2015 national budget.

“We are now doing all pre-procurement preparations so that we can award the contracts once the budget takes effect in January,” he said.

He added that the replacement of six kilometers of rails could take six to seven months – three months for the delivery of the rails and up to four months for their installation.

San Jose pointed out that the first batch of three train coaches out of 48 units that have been procured from a Chinese firm would be arriving in October next year.

“Three coaches will be delivered every month until full delivery in January 2017,” he said.

Responding to questions raised by Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, Light Rail Transit administrator Honorio Chaneco said six kilometers of the rails of LRT-1 were replaced in 2005, while a new signaling system was installed in 2000.

Colmenares wanted to know why such parts of LRT-1, the rail line along Rizal Avenue-Taft Avenue in Manila, have been replaced, while those of the MRT-3 haven’t.

Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla said it was easier to do improvement projects on LRT-1 “because the government owns it.”

“It is different with MRT-3, which is owned by private investors. They were the ones who were supposed to maintain the system and undertake improvements,” he said.

Also in response to Colmenares, San Jose and Chaneco admitted that MRT-3 improvement projects costing P1.8 billion were among the errata in the proposed 2016 budget submitted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the House.

“This means that you did not anticipate these projects, despite the frequent breakdowns in the EDSA rail line, and you failed to include them in your original budget proposal. That’s why they were part of the DBM budget errata,” Colmenares said.

MRT officers and other transportation officials had no explanation on why the improvement projects were not part of their budget proposal for the EDSA rail system, which amounted to P804 million.

“Your errata of P1.8 billion is much more than your original budget submission,” Colmenares told the officials.