Philippines expects delivery of new MRT trains from China

MANILA - The Philippine government is expected to resolve its problem with the Metro Rail Transit III (MRT-3), a mass rail transport system in Metro Manila, with the delivery of new trains from China early next year, a senior government official said Tuesday.

Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said that a joint DOTC and MRT-3 team has returned recently after inspecting the manufacture of 48 new light rail vehicles (LRVs) in Dalian, China.

As reported by the team, he said the prototype is on-schedule for delivery in mid-August.

"The dynamic testing phase will start in November, which is when the prototype's bogies will arrive," said DOTC chief.

"In the meantime, we will assemble the prototype and check its components ahead of the dynamic testing. The monthly delivery of three train cars should start in late January 2016," he added.

Abaya said the project implementation team indicates that the prototype appears to be of good and reliable quality. Better traction motors to incorporate alternating current (AC) technology was used instead of direct current (DC) system presently being used, which means less maintenance needs in the future.

"What is important to us is that the train cars, once delivered, will be safe and reliable. So we prefer to be thorough with the manufacture, assembly, checking, and testing of the prototype," Abaya said.

The MRT-3 system has been a subject of criticisms and complaints among thousands of commuters because of its inefficiency.

There were instances in the past that passengers were hurt because the system malfunctioned.