Gov’t opens bidding for 120 LRT-1 trains

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has opened the bidding process for 120 new train coaches for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1, whose operations were turned over to the private sector last month.

DOTC, together with the Light Rail Transit Authority, invited Japanese companies to purchase bid documents for the contract to supply the train cars. The deal is open only to Japanese firms or groups because the procurement is being funded through a long-term loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

The department added that the bid submission date has been set on Dec. 14, 2015, and that the winner would have three years to complete the delivery for the busy railway system, which runs from Roosevelt in Quezon City up to Baclaran in Parañaque City.

Specifically, the coaches would be delivered in two stages: First in 2017 and the second in 2018, the department said.

LRT-1, which handles close to half a million people a day, is being extended to Bacoor, Cavite, by a private sector consortium led by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp. The venture, known as Light Rail Manila Consortium, also assumed operations of the LRT-1 last month.

The 120 train coaches would be configured in 30 four-car train sets to allow the rail line to accommodate up to 750,000 passengers daily, the DOTC said.

The winning bidder will cover the technical design of the coaches, procurement of materials required for manufacturing the LRVs and ensure compliance with technical specifications through testing.

“With the upcoming 11.8-kilometer extension of LRT-1 comes the need to add more trains to the system,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said in a statement.

“This will enable us to meet demand and to maintain the right headway between arriving trains at the stations. This is part of the massive modernization and upgrading efforts that have started not only for LRT-1 but for all our railways,” he added.