Former LRT Belgian consultant suspected of sabotage

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) yesterday claimed it has found "possible acts of sabotage" in the numerous technical equipment problems at the LRT Line 1 after taking over its maintenance from former maintenance contractor Transurb Technirail (TNR) of Belgium last May 16.

In a statement, the LRTA said that these "possible acts of sabotage" could have been the culprit in the high incidence of service interruptions lasting more than 10 minutes along LRT Line 1, which runs from Monumento in Caloocan City to Baclaran in Parañaque City.

The Belgian firm, however, denied the accusations, said it had not engaged in any attempt to derail the operations to justify the extension of their technical maintenance contract until July.

In denying claims of sabotage, TNR said they turned over to the LRTA "a fully-functioning LRT Line I."

TNR pointed out that it is currently joining the ongoing bidding process for a new contract, saying it believed that the firm is among the most qualified as far as running the LRT I is concerned.

TNR said that it had no hand in any of the difficulties LRT Line-1 has been experiencing and will definitely not do anything to hamper its efficiency.

TNR officials stressed they would not do anything that would endanger the company’s reputation, much less compromise the safety of the riding public since they have been in the business for so long all over the world.

LRT Line I operations manager Rodrigo Bulario, however, said they will be asking TNR to explain the occurrences which resulted in technical difficulties.

TNR had been the technical maintenance consultant of LRT Line I for almost two years until its negotiated contract with the LRTA expired last May 15.

For the task of operating and maintaining the commuter railway’s technical operations, TNR had been paid by the government P28 million a month under the negotiated contract between LRTA and TNR.

"When (TNR’s) contract expired, the company turned over to the LRTA 16 units of ‘chopper control electronics’ which were termed as ‘good’ but were found out later to be defective," the LRTA said.

In the same statement, the LRTA claimed it also discovered that plastic covers on sensitive pressure switches in all the commuter trains were missing, causing their exposure to the elements which resulted in "electric braking failures" during the recent heavy monsoon rains.

"After a thorough check of all air-conditioning units Adtranz trains, some units were found disabled due to grounded parts such as compressors and supply fans," the LRTA said.

These also included some fittings of pneumatic tools which were found missing as early as the day of the maintenance takeover preventing LRTA’s maintenance personnel from using these tools when they were needed.

LRTA administrator Teodoro Cruz, Jr., said that the LRTA has already repaired all of the technical "glitches" previously encountered by their personnel when they took over the maintenance.

He said that they had noted a significant improvement in the service record of LRT Line 1 after they cleared all technical deficiencies.

For this month, Line 1 has experienced "progressively lower levels of service interruptions," with zero service interruptions experienced for the period of June 14-18, Cruz said.

The LRTA cited the recent decision of the Manila regional trial court recognizing their capability of maintaining the railway system.

Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 26 Judge Oscar Barrientos has earlier dismissed the petition of TNR for failing "to prove the necessity and urgency for the issuance of a temporary restraining order."