China-made trains '100% compatible' with MRT-3

The new light rail vehicles (LRVs) the Philippines ordered from China are "100-percent compatible" with the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) system, according to transportation officials.

"No one in his right mind will order a system that won't match the rail and specs. That will be tantamount to procuring headaches," Transportation Secretary Emilio Joseph "Jun Abaya" said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Three of the 48 coaches ordered by the government in 2013 from the Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co. have been delivered to the Philippines and are expected to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2016.

The deal, however, was hounded by speculations that the coaches were not fully compatible with the country's mass rail system as the China-made trains run in a four-car configuration.

Abaya said the government is "already addressing" the issue by upgrading the power system. He said the MRT-3 is actually designed as a four-car train set-up.

"In fact, all MRT stations are designed for a four-car train set. We are procuring an upgrade of the power system because a four-car train set needs more power and this has long been part of the MRT 3 upgrade rehab. In fact, it is part of the 2015 budget," he said.

In a separate text message, MRT General Manager Roman Buenafe said the new vehicles are "100-percent compatible with the train's current power supply. The physical dimensions are also the same as the current fleet."

The capacity of the MRT-3 would expand by as much as 67 percent once all 48 LRVs are operational, Abaya earlier said.

"Commuters will experience increased passenger convenience and service reliability with the arrival of more new LRVs. If the evaluation of the first set is found to be satisfactory, we are expecting one new train to be operational by the end of this quarter,” Abaya said in a statement.

"The 48 new LRVs are part of the DOTC-MRT3 capacity expansion project, which will substantially ease the MRT-3 system’s congestion by boosting system capacity to over 800,000 daily passengers,” the DOTC said.

Based on the timeline of the DOTC, the completion of the 48 LRVs is expected by January 2017. —ALG/VS, GMA News