Around 48 Dalian trains procured by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) of the Philippines to increase Metro Rail Transit Line 3’s (MRT-3) capacity are unused. These trains were delivered in 2014 by CRRC Dalian Company Limited for PHP3.75 billion and were a part of the agency’s Capacity Expansion (CAPEX) Project.
The new units were expected to increase passenger capacity to 800,000 passengers per day.
Only nine of the LRVs have received provisional acceptance certificates, but the issuance of Final Acceptance Certificates (FACs) is pending until the trains can achieve MRT-3’s design speed of 60 km per hour. The testing and commissioning of the remaining 39 vehicles have also been limited due to an existing rehabilitation agreement.
To issue the final certificates, the speed restriction on the MRT-3 line, as stipulated in the Rehabilitation and Maintenance Agreement (RMA) between the DOTr and Sumitomo Corporation, the original designer and maintenance provider of MRT-3, must be lifted.