Commuters who brave the rush-hour crowds at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) will have to bear with stuffed trains, as the new trains won't be added into the system until possibly 2010 due to legal constraints.
The MRT has already reached its maximum daily passenger capacity of 350,000 and is currently averaging more than half a million commuters daily.
The system's trains, currently numbering 20, are facing more wear and tear due to the thousands more people using the trains and maintenance costs are also spiraling upward.
"The trains, of course, will suffer... ‘yong madali siyang [makaranas ng] wear and tear... we need to spend more on the maintenance to make these trains operational," said Arnel Manreza, Executive Assistant at the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC)-MRT.
The MRT however won't be able to add more trains to the system because of problems with the MRT's contract with the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) consortium.
"The consortium, which is MRTC, has the right of first refusal. That means they are the ones who are supposed to... procure for the government additional trains... the DOTC will still have to seek DOJ opinion if the government can buy or procure these units," Manreza said.
The MRT management said even if the request for more trains would be approved this year, these could possibly arrive by 2010 due to the long paperwork attached to the procurement.
The MRT is requesting for an additional 73 cart trains.
"If the negotiations or the project is approved, and the notice to proceed to the suppliers is issued within the year, by 2010 we will have at least 20 trains," he said.
The government is eyeing the buyout of the MRTC by the MRT as a possible solution that could help in hastening the procurement of new trains, as well as in other operational problems of the railway line.
"They're looking at NDC or Land Bank of the Philippines so in effect we still have to pay NDC. But at this time it will be... a concession which is better this time," Manreza added.
The MRTC, which is responsible for the maintenance of the system and the procurement of spare parts for trains, is open to the suggestion, even if their contract with the DOTC states that the government could only buy out their services by 2025. With a report from Gretchen Malalad, ABS-CBN News