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The operator of Metro Rail Transit-Line 3 (MRT-3)has sought the
legal opinion of the Department of Justice about the plan of
government to procure more trains through the Department of
Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in its bid to lessen
congestion of passengers.
“The Metro Rail Transit Corp. [MRTC] has no
plans to buy new trains, so the government will procure more trains
through DOTC,” Roberto Lastimoso, general manager of Metro Rail
Transit Authority, said in an interview.
He said the government plans to buy 73 light
rail vehicle (LRV) trains to meet the growing number of passengers
at MRT-3.
MRTC, which owns the assets of MRT-3, is a
consortium led by Sobrepena family’s Fil-Estate Management. Other
investors include Ayala Land, Inc., Anglo-Philippine Holdings Corp.,
Ramcar, Inc. and Greenfield Development Corp.
“They [MRTC] have the right of first refusal;
without their approval, the government cannot procure additional
trains,” Lastimoso said, adding that the government is “looking
at 2010 or late 2009 for the delivery of 30 new trains” for the
first phase and 43 for the second phase.
The government estimated that it needs about $67
million to purchase 30 three-car trains with three minutes headway
or four-car trains with 2.5 minutes headway. At present, the system
is using a three-car train with three minutes headway.
The “emergency capacity expansion” is needed
to meet the projected 30,031 passengers’ per peak hour demand by
2010.
Last year, Lastimoso said that average daily
passenger rose to 410,000. The MRT-3 system is designed to cover
only about 23,600 passengers per peak hour, but now the demand
ballooned to 25,753 during rush hour. The MRT-3 demand of 23,600 had
been breached as early as 2004.
On August 30, the government through the DOTC
and the Department of Finance entered into an agreement with the
private consortium led by the Fil-Estate group to buyout the
build-lease-transfer (BLT) contract of the MRTC for $865 million,
ahead of the period stipulated in the concession agreement.
The early buyout will result in $380-million
worth of savings for the government, according to Finance Secretary
Margarito Teves. An earlier study, however, showed that the savings
can run to $1 billion.
The MRT-3 was built to speed up the commute and
alleviate the chronic traffic congestion along EDSA. But the current
capacity of the system is inadequate to meet the first goal, let
alone the second.
At present, the rail system has a fleet of 73
Czech-made air-conditioned rail cars, of which up to 60 three-car
trains operate daily. The trains run at a maximum speed of 65
kilometers per hour to cover the rail system’s 13 stations in
about 30 minutes, including 25-second to 35-second stops in each
station.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar
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