Veteran columnist of the Philippine Star, Jarius Bondoc revealed on his latest opinion piece written last May 25, that the Japanese and German technical experts recommended to the Philippine government to return the defective Dalian Trains, purchased by the Aquino administration to China for repairs and to fix the many defects they found.
The Japanese and German technical experts released their detailed findings on the controversial trains purchased by the Aquino admin from Dalian Automotive and Rolling Stock Co.
According to the recommendations of the Japanese evalueators, the 48 MRT-3 railcars from Dalian should be return to fix the many defects. The German engineers separtely noted the same faults mentioned by the Japanese experts as they told the Department of Transporation to act accordingly because ride safety, reliability, and comfort depend on it.
Based upon the reports of the Japanese and German experts, dozens of flaws have been found. Among those are uninspected, untested basic components and safety features. Examples: wheels, axles, brakes, auto-doors, vibrations, interior noise, lighting, ventilation and air conditioning, flooring, roof, driver’s cab, and electrical couplings.
The above mentioned defects were on top of earlier serious design flops discovered by MRT engineers. The railcars, or coaches, are 3.3 tons overweight and the chassis were ill fit. Configured for four-coach train sets, each train would be 13.2 tons heavier. Wrong sized, they cannot be hoisted for inspection and repair on existing hi-precision equipment at the MRT-3 depot.
The MRT-3 maintenance provider, Sumitomo on their part stated "As a result of the assessment of the Dalian reports, it can be concluded that, in fact, all 48 cars did not have any kind of certifications, which should have been used as evidence to verify achievement of all performance tests required for train system, such as design qualification, proper procurement, correctness of manufacturing, operating performance, insurance of safety, etc. This means that the Dalian cars are not reliable, they cannot be considered as qualified cars and nobody can ascertain that the(y) are safe passenger railcars.”
Dalian had not checked the 48 coaches for most of the dozens of engineering specifications. The few tests done in-factory were only on one to three units, Nos. 3102, 3103, and 3104. Lesser inspections after delivery in Manila did not identify the coach number, thus pointless.
TUV Rheinland technicians saw similar design and manufacturing faults. Deviating from contract specs, Dalian lacked requisite safety and performance certifications. DOTr hired the German quality-audit firm in Feb.
According to Bondoc, DOTr should have acted at once on Sumitomo and TUV Rheinland’s findings. Transport Sec. Arthur Tugade and Railways U-Sec. Timothy John Batan repeatedly said before that they would abide by the specialists’ assessment of Dalian wares.
Source: PhilStar
The Japanese and German technical experts released their detailed findings on the controversial trains purchased by the Aquino admin from Dalian Automotive and Rolling Stock Co.
According to the recommendations of the Japanese evalueators, the 48 MRT-3 railcars from Dalian should be return to fix the many defects. The German engineers separtely noted the same faults mentioned by the Japanese experts as they told the Department of Transporation to act accordingly because ride safety, reliability, and comfort depend on it.
Based upon the reports of the Japanese and German experts, dozens of flaws have been found. Among those are uninspected, untested basic components and safety features. Examples: wheels, axles, brakes, auto-doors, vibrations, interior noise, lighting, ventilation and air conditioning, flooring, roof, driver’s cab, and electrical couplings.
The above mentioned defects were on top of earlier serious design flops discovered by MRT engineers. The railcars, or coaches, are 3.3 tons overweight and the chassis were ill fit. Configured for four-coach train sets, each train would be 13.2 tons heavier. Wrong sized, they cannot be hoisted for inspection and repair on existing hi-precision equipment at the MRT-3 depot.
The MRT-3 maintenance provider, Sumitomo on their part stated "As a result of the assessment of the Dalian reports, it can be concluded that, in fact, all 48 cars did not have any kind of certifications, which should have been used as evidence to verify achievement of all performance tests required for train system, such as design qualification, proper procurement, correctness of manufacturing, operating performance, insurance of safety, etc. This means that the Dalian cars are not reliable, they cannot be considered as qualified cars and nobody can ascertain that the(y) are safe passenger railcars.”
Dalian had not checked the 48 coaches for most of the dozens of engineering specifications. The few tests done in-factory were only on one to three units, Nos. 3102, 3103, and 3104. Lesser inspections after delivery in Manila did not identify the coach number, thus pointless.
TUV Rheinland technicians saw similar design and manufacturing faults. Deviating from contract specs, Dalian lacked requisite safety and performance certifications. DOTr hired the German quality-audit firm in Feb.
According to Bondoc, DOTr should have acted at once on Sumitomo and TUV Rheinland’s findings. Transport Sec. Arthur Tugade and Railways U-Sec. Timothy John Batan repeatedly said before that they would abide by the specialists’ assessment of Dalian wares.
Source: PhilStar
Japanese & German Experts Suggests to Return the Defective Dalian Trains to China
Reviewed by Phil Newsome
on
May 26, 2018
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Reviewed by Phil Newsome
on
May 26, 2018
Rating:
