China-made Dalian trains brought by the Department of Transportation which arrived in 2017 for the MRT 3 line will but remained unused be utilized 'as soon as possible' after Japanese maintenance contractor Sumitomo Corporation finishes its safety checks.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on Friday said that the Dalian trains are undergoing a 10-step checklist, with seven or eight steps already finished. The government spent around P3.7 billion to buy 48 trains from Dailan.

"The safety inspections [of the Dalian trains] are ongoing. Sumitomo has a list of 10 checklists. They've done seven or eight already," Dizon said.

Dizon said that despite Sumitomo's thoroughness with the inspection and assessment of the Dalian trains, he hopes that eight to ten trains can initially be used on the MRT 3 line.

"You know how our Japanese partners are very thorough with their inspection and assessment, but we hope that at least eight to ten trains can initially be utilized once they finish their checklist," Dizon added.

The possible starting date of the use of the Dalian trains cannot be provided, yet Dizon said that he is asking the MRT 3's Japanese maintenance contractor to speed up the process which has been ongoing for 'quite some time'.

Dizon also hopes that the Dalian trains can be utilized as soon as possible to increase the MRT 3's ridership.

"We want to add the trains on MRT 3 to maximize its ridership and to make it faster to ride the trains," Dizon said.

In 2014, forty eight trains were purchased from Chinese manufacturer CRRC Dalian by the previous Aquino administration to decongest the MRT 3 railway, yet it remained unused after a decade due to its incompatibility concerns with the MRT-3 system.

The possible use of the Dalian trains came after the transportation department's announcement on Monday that they were 'sure' about extending Sumitomo Corporation's contract for the rehabilitation and management of the MRT 3 line, with the May 2023 contract extension worth P7.38 billion set to expire in July.

The Japanese firm originally designed, built, and maintained the MRT 3 line, which started operating in 2000. Velle White/DMS