Busan Universal Rail Inc., the maintenance provider of Metro Rail Transit Line 3, asked the Transportation Department to conduct its own audit to verify the primary causes of glitches and stoppages at the system.
Busan spokesperson Charles Mercado said the primary reasons for glitches and stoppages at MRT 3 were the system and design flaws, and not poor maintenance.
Mercado said apart from system and design flaws, there was a need for rail replacement, which should be prioritized by Undersecretary for rail Cesar Chavez.
Mercado said even Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade instructed MRT to review loading protocols.
“These concerns become more relevant considering the DOTr’s recent imposition of penalties in the amount of around P27 million, which Buri has questioned, considering that, under the contract and its negotiation bulletins, penalties cannot be imposed on Buri for system interruptions caused by rail defects,” he said.
“We strongly recommend for DOTr and MRT-3 to immediately conduct a system audit in order for the government to once and for all verify our claim that the causes of glitches and stoppages are the system and design flaws and that of the aging state of the train system, among others,” Mercado said.
He said records showed that as of Aug. 15, 2017, Buri’s operational fleet availability for MRT3 was 91.67 percent or 66 out of 72 cars, higher than Light Rail Transit Line 1’s 74.82 percent (102 of 139 cars) and LRT 2’s 66.67 percent (48 of 72 cars).
Mercado said the 91.67-percent figure represented a dramatic rise from the fleet availability of 55 percent when Busan took over the maintenance of MRT-3 in January 2016, despite the significant increase in ridership of about 30 percent from 2000 when maintenance was still undertaken by Sumitomo.
“Despite the fact that our company has performed its contracted obligations, met its key performance indicators, and delivered more than the required train availability to the system, Usec Chavez appears to be blind to these real and true facts,” Mercado said.
He said Chavez misled the public by alleging that the MRT 3 system experienced around 3,700 glitches under Buri’s watch from January 2016 to June 2017.
Mercado said that based on records, Busan successfully minimized the occurrence of glitches from 2,776 in 2015 to 992 as of mid-June 2017.
