MRT-3 shutdown ‘inevitable’

MANILA, Philippines - The shutdown of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 is “inevitable” and it is the maintenance provider’s fault, MRT Holdings said yesterday.

“There would be no talk of a shutdown if the trains were being maintained properly. Can you imagine 550,000 passengers scrambling to look for alternative means of transportation if there is a shutdown, especially during peak hours?” lawyer David Narvasa, who represents MRT Holdings, said.

The firm, which owns the rail line, said the shutdown is inevitable because of the maintenance provider’s failure to buy spare parts. APT Global is the current maintenance provider of the MRT-3, tasked to make sure that the line’s 20 trains run every day.

Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya was earlier reported to have said the government was considering the possibility of a shutdown while the MRT was being rehabilitated.

Narvasa also claimed that after the Senate hearing on the MRT on Oct. 1, MRT Holdings chairman Robert John Sobrepeña approached the DOTC, expressing the firm’s willingness to assist and help find solutions to the problems plaguing the MRT.

Narvasa claimed DOTC officials refused to speak to the private owners. “We have not received any communication from DOTC regarding the buyout. We do not understand why DOTC refuses to speak with us,” he said.