THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) is considering filing an arbitration case against Chinese train maker CRRC Dalian Co. Ltd to seek reparations for the still unused 48 train sets for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3).
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said it may file an arbitration suit before the Singapore International Commercial Court.
“Magkakaroon yan ng liquidated damages kasi hindi nila na-meet yung requirements natin e. But of course, subject to agreement… We should be fair and reasonable in terms of what should be collected from Dalian,” Bautista said.
“Posibleng magkaroon ng arbitration ‘yan. In fact, nakikita ko na doon papunta ‘yang problem natin on Dalian trains,” the Transportation chief said.
He said the eventual filing of an arbitration suit can happen before the planned privatization of the MRT-3’s operations begins.
The procurement of Dalian trains was aimed at increasing the capacity of the MRT-3 to 800,000 passengers per day and decongesting the rail system, as reported by the GMA News.
The trains were procured by the government in 2014 and were delivered in 2016 but remained idle due to incompatibility issues.
Bautista explained that since the weight of the Dalian train sets were not compatible with the MRT-3’s tracks, the agency opted not to use the trains.
“The reason why we don’t like to operate those trains at this time is posibleng maging mas mataas ‘yung maintenance cost. Maintaining the rail line might be affected also and it can result in higher operating cost also,” the Transportation chief said.
