DOTr, Mitsubishi sign deal for new LRT-1 trains

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) yesterday signed an agreement for the supply of the 120 light rail vehicles (LRVs) for Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) system.

The agreement for the procurement of 120 new LRVs for the LRT-1’s 12-kilometer extension from the current endpoint in Baclaran, Parañaque, to Bacoor in Cavite was signed by DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade and Mitsubishi Corp. senior vice president Tetsuji Nakagawa.

“It is a beautiful day because we are putting life to a project that has been delayed for a long time. No way will I delay any further. No way will I procrastinate. It is high time to put this project in high motion,” Tugade said.

Light Rail Manila Corp. that is composed of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., Ayala Corp.’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) PTE Ltd., bagged the LRT-1 Cavite Extension project under the public-private partnership program.

The consortium took over operations of the LRT-1 in September 2015.

The first bidding for the 120 LRVs from October 2015 to February 2016 failed after Japanese firms did not submit offers for the project.

With the procurement of trains being funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the bidding was open to Japanese-led companies or consortia.

Upon assuming office, Tugade negotiated with the Japanese government on some requirements in the official development assistance loan to ensure a successful and competitive second bidding.

“We are particularly proud of two things. First, the active participation of Japanese, Spanish and Korean firms demonstrates the openness, transparency and efficiency of the bidding process. Second, the final contract price is not only within budget, but is also approximately 20 percent lower than the bid price of the next-ranked bidder,” DOTr assistant secretary for railways Timothy John Batan said.

The 120 LRVs are designed with fourvehicle configuration.

Each train set would have a minimum of 1,388 passengers and is expected to be energy efficient and have low maintenance cost.

The first four LRVs are expected to be delivered on Aug. 31, 2020, while the next delivery of 40 LRVs would be on Dec. 31, 2020.