By Camille A. Aguinaldo

AN OFFICIAL of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday that all train coaches of the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) have been long overdue for a general overhaul, and that the tracks too need to be replaced.

“The overhaul was supposed to be due last 2016…So, the whole fleet is really overdue for overhaul,” Undersecretary for Rails Timothy John Batan said at the hearing by the Senate committee on public services on the problems hounding the MRT-3.

Mr. Batan said the train coaches were supposed to be overhauled every eight years. The last time this procedure was undertaken, he said, was 2007 to 2009.

He added that the previous maintenance provider, Busan Universal Rail, Inc. (BURI), was required to overhaul 43 of 72 train coaches as part of its contract with the government.

“When the government took over, they should have completed 26 according to (the) general overhaul schedule. But they only finished three,” he said.

Mr. Batan also identified the many issues which caused frequent disruptions and fewer operating trains, describing the condition of the busiest train system as being in a “really deteriorating state.”

He said the railway system has experienced maintenance difficulties because of a series of short-term contracts with maintenance providers which hampered them from making the necessary investments for properly maintaining the system.

He also pointed out that some components, such as the signaling system, were being reconditioned instead of being replaced, which affected the trains’ reliability.

“Even though it was reconditioned, it would still work but not as reliable as it would have been if we replaced them with new spare parts,” he said.

The DoTr official also noted that the signaling system should have been replaced last 2015 based on international standards.

MRT-3’s railway tracks, Mr. Batan added, also needed to be replaced even though it could have lasted for 100 years if properly maintained.

He said they would also need two years to finish replacing the needed components for the trains as they would keep the operations running while they accomplish the rehabilitation only during non-revenue hours.

The MRT-3 management is also targeting to increase the number of operating trains from seven to 10 by the end of February with the arrival of spare parts and eventually to 15 trains after the Holy Week break.

As for bringing back the MRT’s reliability, Mr. Batan said they would need six months.

He added that the general overhaul program which would restore the MRT’s 20 trains with the rehabilitation service provider is a three-year period that would start on May.

Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, chair of the committee, asked DoTr officials to regularly update them on the developments in the MRT rehabilitation.

“We appreciate your work. We know that this is a sacrifice on your part….We need that fixed timetable for the completion of repairs and rehabilitation, instead of open-ended assurances and big promises,” she said.

“Now you have to be able to offer something in return to our passengers. It’s not so much to ask of the government to make it a little bit more convenient for us,” she added.

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