DOTC eyeing second-hand trains for MRT

MANILA, Philippines – In a hurry to buy more trains for the congested EDSA-bound Metro Rail Transit (MRT), Secretary Leandro Mendoza of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said that the government is looking at buying decommissioned but available second- hand trains from Europe.

Mendoza, in a press briefing with MRT general manager Roberto Lastimoso at the rail line’s depot at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City, said that the delivery of the trains at the soonest possible time is an important factor in their decision.

“Well, we are after the one which can deliver the trains the soonest possible time,” Mendoza said.

The transportation chief said that mass rail systems in Europe, particularly in Austria and Germany, had changed their trains and they are looking at buying the old trains.

“There are second-hand trains available. There were those who changed their trains in Europe — Vienna and Germany. We’re looking at these,” Mendoza said.

He said that the almost daily overloading at the MRT is a serious concern for the government, with record high passenger volumes exceeding the maximum capacity by thousands.

“When this was built, the maximum capacity was 350,000. But now, we’ve been hitting 538,000 passengers a day,” Mendoza said in the press briefing he gave before attending the MRT’s eighth anniversary celebration where he was guest of honor.

Mendoza added that they are also looking at the possibility of buying brand-new trains.

“If you go by the industry pricing, the cost of a brand new car is about $3 million. So if we’re talking here about 73 cars, then just multiply that by 3 (million dollars),” Mendoza said.

“We need more trains. We need another 73 trains especially now that the price of fuel is too expensive,” Mendoza said.

The government, Mendoza said, is keen on procuring the much-needed trains even without the approval of the MRT Corp., the company that built the rail line under a 25-year build-lease-transfer agreement with the government in the late 1990s.

Mendoza likewise said that the DOTC already got a legal opinion from the Department of Justice that allows it to procure the additional trains when the MRTC again fails to answer their requests for the purchase of more trains.

It was learned that the BLT agreement between the MRTC and the government includes a provision that gives the MRTC a right of first refusal on the purchase of additional trains.

“Under the BLT agreement, there’s a provision there that MRTC has the right of first refusal. So if they don’t refuse, then they should procure. Now we have asked them several times, if govern-ment can procure. And on several occasions they have not answered our query so we have sought the opinion of the Department of Justice if the government can procure without the approval of MRTC in the interest of the public,” Mendoza said.