Pass, or (still) fail?
The Dalian coaches have already passed the weight test. More than a thousand sandbags were loaded into the coaches to simulate the weight of passengers. The axle weights were well within the limits of the MRT. This was actually said by a resource person at one of the Senate hearings on the supposed anomalous purchase and flawed coaches from Dalian. Still, according to the DOTr, there are still "83 boxes to be checked off" before they sign on the worthiness of the coaches. The TUV Rheinland report will also be out in a week or two. I remember hearing that TUV Rheinland's report would be out by March. I guess it still isn't. The Dalian Corp. executives are confident that the coaches will meet all the requirements of the DOTr. So what were the issues in the first place? If it is becoming evident that the coaches are safe, compatible and ready to use, why did it take more than a year to assess all of these?
When the Dalian coaches arrived, we heard nothing but bad things about them. The reasons varied from the incompatibility of the signaling system, the supposed overweight of the coaches, the inadequate power supply for the new trains, old tracks, this and that. But there are videos where the Dalian coaches are already running on the MRT tracks. Still, the evaluations by the DOTr continue to make sure the coaches are safe to use by the riding public.
There are 48 coaches from Dalian. If the DOTr will run the coaches -if they ever do- it would be a great comfort to the riding public. If they still find problems that can be easily fixed, such as inadequate air conditioning, broken lights, and whatever else, they should now attend to them. The important thing is they are compatible with the existing systems, they run on the tracks, the brakes work, they passed the weight test and are safe for the public to use. Hopefully the result from TUV Rheinland will reflect the same.
The DOTr has had all the time and opportunity to go through the Dalian coaches with a fine-tooth comb. An official has said that if they pass, they will sign off on them. If they fail, they will return them. So far, there hasn't been any issues that would indicate that they cannot be used in the existing MRT tracks, but I have no idea what those 83 boxes that have to be checked off are. They could be anything, at this point. A single 'x' on any of those parameters could spell doom for the coaches and make them go the way of the Dengvaxia vaccine. The DOTr has stated that regardless of the outcome of the tests and evaluations, they will still go after past officials over the sorry state of the MRT. I'm sure they will. But in the meantime, if the Dalian coaches are indeed roadworthy and safe to use, then by all means, use them.
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