MRTC 3100 class

Background and purchase

With the ridership of the Line 3 already peaking at almost half of its 350,000 original daily capacity, there have been calls to purchase additional trains as early as 2008.^[11] Initially, in February 2013, the government was looking at buying 52 second-hand trains from Madrid Metro and Inekon Trams to immediately augment the problem,^[12][13] but after evaluation, the plan was dropped in June due to less advantageous timelines for delivery and higher maintenance costs.^[14]

The first of three contracts of the Line 3 capacity expansion project,^[a] which involves the procurement of 48 light rail vehicles,^[15] was opened for bidding on February 22, 2013.^[14] Sumitomo Corporation—the maintenance provider of the MRT-3 from 1999 to 2012—expressed interest in bidding for the contract.^[14] Among the firms that tendered were CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive (later CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive) and CNR Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock (later CRRC Dalian). CSR Zhuzhou was disqualified by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC; later the Department of Transportation). CNR Dalian was the only firm left in the bidding process, and the firm was awarded the ₱3.8 billion contract on January 16, 2014.^[16][17][18]

Production and initial commissioning

The first prototype, LRV 3101, arrived at the Port of Manila on August 14, 2015,^[19] and was assembled at LRT Line 1's Baclaran Depot on September 3.^[20] It was then hauled to Line 3's North Avenue Depot, where it arrived on September 5.^[21] CNR Dalian delivered all 48 train vehicles from 2016 to 2017, with some trains assembled at Taft Avenue station using a temporary track extension, and at Line 1's Baclaran Depot.

The first train was scheduled to enter revenue service at the end of March 2016 but delays in its 5,000-kilometer (3,100 mi) test run had delayed its deployment.^[22][23][24] Nevertheless, these were deployed for the first time on May 7, 2016.^[25]

On March 15, 2017, the Transportation Undersecretary for Railways, Cesar Chavez, said that the 3100 class trains could not be used until 2018 due to lack of signaling equipment and the necessary infrastructure upgrades needed to run the trains.^[26] On April 25, Chavez announced another delay, pushing back full deployment to 2020.^[27]

Limited deployments

On October 27, 2018, the 3100 class trains officially entered service after numerous tests and audits, with the deployment of the first train on the same day for 150-hour validation testing until November 21.^[8] The second trainset was deployed from December 11 to 23,^[28] and the third was deployed from January 23 to February 1, 2019, and in March.^[29][30] The validation tests were conducted by the Philippine National Railways and Toshiba Infrastructure Systems.^[31][32]

The 3100 class trains were subsequently pulled out of service and later stayed idle. In May 2019, Sumitomo Corporation took over as MRT Line 3's maintenance provider. Under its contract with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), it prohibits the use of the Dalian trains; if not, Sumitomo imposes penalties to the DOTr.^[33] Both parties later signed a consent for its limited deployment in the evening, which commenced on October 15, 2019.^[34] Initially planned to conclude by the end of the month, the DOTr extended it through November to further evaluate its performance, but said that test runs would be suspended to accommodate rail replacement works.^[35] By December, it added a deployment period in the afternoon off-peak hours in addition to the evening off-peak hours to cater more passengers for the Christmas season.^[36]

On June 1, 2020, the DOTr deployed three Dalian train sets, which remained in service until May 25, 2021.^[37] Subsequently, one of the Dalian LRVs was sent to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries's testing facility in Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan for further tests and audits.^[38] After a ten-month hiatus, one of the trainsets returned to revenue service on March 28, 2022, before being idled again.^[39]

Car body

The car body is made of stainless steel with a livery of sky blue and yellow fascia. Dimensions are nearly the same to the RT8D5M, which are also built for single-ended operations. It is connected by a Jacobs bogie and a gangway in each railcar section.^[4]

Each light rail vehicle has three roof-mounted air-conditioning units. In total, there are nine air-conditioning units in a three-car train set.

Interior

Each railcar is provided with five double leaf, electronically operated, plug-sliding doors. The three center doors have an open width of 1,255 mm (49.4 in) while the two end doors at 861 mm (33.9 in).^[6]

Each train car has a capacity of 394 passengers. A 3-car trainset can accommodate 1,182 passengers.^[1] Two wheelchair-compatible spaces are provided beside the driver cab of each LRV, each provided with seatbelts to prevent the wheelchair from moving around while the train is in motion. The sides of the doors are equipped with fire extinguishers. The trains also have an equipped passenger emergency alarm button in case of an emergency.^[47]

Mechanical

Each LRV has four bogies consisting of two motorized bogies at the ends of the LRV and two shared trailer bogies under the articulations. Scharfenberg couplers manufactured by Voith are present in each vehicle.^[5]

Electrical

Traction is powered through an IGBT–VVVF inverter control manufactured by Voith, and two controllers are installed per vehicle. The traction motor is a three-phase induction motor (totally enclosed/self-ventilated type) manufactured by Traktionssysteme Austria, model TMR 36-28-4, and is combined with Voith quill drive unit.^[2][5] The traction equipment includes two Voith EmCon I1000-9AU traction inverters with 350 kVA continuous power in each that drives the traction motors, one auxiliary converter, and a VPort IO control unit.^[5]

The traction motor of the overhauled LRTA 1100 class trains are also manufactured by Voith, and both trains produces identical acceleration sounds.

Legal issues

Shortly after the contract was awarded, the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC)—the private owner of the MRT-3—accused the DOTC of violating its build-lease-transfer (BLT) agreement with the MRTC. A Regional Trial Court in Makati issued a temporary restraining order on January 30, halting the acquisition process.^[48] Under the BLT agreement, MRTC was assigned the preferential right to purchase new trains, and MRTC can only lose this right if it breaches its obligations under the BLT agreement or consents to the use of trains not provided by MRTC but by the DOTC. In this case, however, DOTC chose to bid out the contract without MRTC's permission.^[49]

The court dismissed the case on February 21, citing a law which states that the Supreme Court could only stop infrastructure projects by the national government.^[50] MRTC subsequently sent its case to the Court of Appeals (CA), which also sided with the DOTC.^[51] MRTC appealed again, resulting in another failure.^[52]

On October 14, 2022, the Supreme Court denied MRTC's appeal for injunction to prevent the DOTr from procuring the new trains, thereby permitting their utilization as pursuant to the existing contract.^[53]

Safety concerns

Early on, the DOTC reportedly planned to redo the bidding process while it was reviewing CNR Dalian's capability. According to an unnamed DOTC official who doubted CNR's capability, the firm has no track record of designing and manufacturing light rail vehicles (as its portfolio comprises primarily of locomotives),^[49] a claim later backed by the MRTC in January 2016. MRTC, through its chairman Robert Sobrepeña, also claimed that the trains did not undergo a 5,000-kilometer (3,100 mi) test run in China before the shipment to the Philippines.^[7]

In 2017, Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Cesar Chavez admitted that the 3100 class trains lacked sufficient signaling equipment, causing a delay in its deployment.^[26] By February 2018, only 29 out of 48 trains were installed with on-board automatic train protection (ATP) system equipment.^[54] In 2019, Bombardier Transportation certified the onboard signaling systems of the trains.^[55] By the end of 2022, only nine out of the 48 light rail vehicles (LRV) were provisionally accepted for regular operations, while the remaining 39 were yet to undergo testing and commissioning.^[56]

Weight issues

The tare weight of the trains exceeded the 46.3-tonne (102,000 lb) requirement by 3.4 tonnes (7,500 lb), weighing 49.7 tonnes (110,000 lb).^[57] Senator JV Ejercito, in October 2017, said that the weight of the 8MLB trains exceeded the "tolerance limit" of the tracks.^[58]

CRRC Dalian insisted that the trains complied within the specification limits.^[18] In a Senate hearing on February 20, 2018, Rolf Bieri, a consultant with former maintenance provider Comm Builders & Technology Philippines (CB&T), said that the trains are within the allowable specifications. Bieri explained that the axle load had to be divided from the projected fully loaded (laden) weight of one LRV at 75.2 tonnes (166,000 lb) by the eight axles, resulting in a 9.4-tonne (21,000 lb) axle load—within the range limit of 8.5 to 10 tonnes (19,000 to 22,000 lb). He further explained that the tracks could not handle anything heavier than the specified limit.^[1] TÜV Rheinland later cleared the trains following an audit.^[55]

Resolution

On August 30, 2018, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade announced that CRRC Dalian agreed to shoulder all costs to fix the 3100 class trains.^[59][60] Due to the Dalian trains undergoing the said adjustments, they are now slowly being introduced into revenue runs since October 2018.^[8]