MRT-3 lost P80 M due to poor maintenance – DOTr

MANILA, Philippines — The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) has lost P80.3 million in revenues from January 2016 to July this year due to poor maintenance, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

“The DOTr has suffered huge revenue losses due to the service interruptions, train removal from service and train derailments caused by BURI’s (Busan Universal Rail Inc.’s) poor and negligent maintenance works,” Cesar Chavez, undersecretary for the rail sector at the DOTr, said in a Sept. 6 supplement to the position paper on the proposed termination of the MRT-3’s maintenance contract.

BURI took over the maintenance of the MRT-3 in January last year.

He said the figure of P80.3 million is based on the instances of train removals, service interruptions and derailment of train cars as a result of BURI’s failure to deliver the required number of trains and procure spare parts.

There were a total of 933 service interruptions and passenger unloading due to defects in the trains from January 2016 to July this year, Chavez said.

He said in 2016 alone, there were 2,705 train removal incidents while there were 1,116 such incident from January to July this year.

BURI is under obligation to ensure that 20 trains are running during weekday peak hours, which are from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Chavez said.

He added that BURI must also ensure that the 20 trains are safe, reliable and efficient.

Chavez also said BURI failed to maintain at least six months’ supply of fast-moving spare parts and consumables as the P4.62-million procurement for the last quarter of 2016 and the P2.78-million procurement for first quarter of this year were not delivered.

The DOTR has fined BURI P27.57 million, but Chavez said it is not enough to offset the loss in revenues.

He said the agency must terminate BURI’s services in order to prevent further losses.

BURI spokesman Charles Mercado earlier said the firm intends to avail of the mutual consultation clause in its contract to resolve issues.

BURI has attributed the glitches and stoppages of the MRT-3 to the train system’s aging condition and design flaws.

The firm also recommended that the government conduct a system audit to verify its claim.