THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) plans to file an arbitration case against CRRC Dalian, a Chinese train manufacturer, for allegedly delivering non-compliant trains for the MRT-3 system.
The trains supplied by Dalian are heavier than what was specified in the contract, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said.
Running Dalian’s trains could result in higher maintenance and rail line costs, Bautista said.
He said the government was considering penalizing the Chinese train manufacturer.
“We need to talk with them. We should be fair and reasonable in terms of what should be collected from Dalian,” Bautista said.
The arbitration case could be filed in Singapore, he said.
Dalian is working on solutions to make the trains usable on the MRT-3 line.
“If we will be satisfied, we can agree with them to operate the Dalian train,” Bautista said.
The government plans to bid out the privatization of MRT-3 by the second or third quarter of 2025.
The winning bidder for the privatization of the operations and maintenance (O&M) of MRT-3 can consider using the Dalian trains by fixing the weight problem, he said.
The government runs MRT-3, while the MRTC, owned by Metro Rail Transit Holdings II Inc. led by businessman Robert John Sobrepeña, designed and built the EDSA rail transit system.
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