MRail Inc. and partner Desco, the exclusive distributor of General Electric in the country, completed the rehabilitation of two Philippine National Railways locomotives, a project awarded to them through a solicited bidding in 2014.
“We are happy to announce that the test run for the rehabilitated locomotive has been a success,” said Ferdinand Inacay, president and chief executive of MRail, a subsidiary of Manila Electric Co.
“Our engineers worked tirelessly on the rehabilitation. It is a proof that Filipinos are capable and technically-competent to embark on such a project. We are more than happy to take part in providing support for a better PNR,” Inacay said.
The team conducted a test run on Dec. 8 for the GE locomotives refurbished by the partnership to modernize the equipment of PNR.
The test run started from the Tutuban station in Manila at 11:45 a.m. and reached the Alabang station in Muntinlupa City an hour later. After a brief stop in the Alabang turn-back, the return trip to Tutuban commenced.
The train running test required the refurbished locomotives to pull five railway cars of PNR during the trip, without any revenue passengers. It travelled at an average speed of 40 kilometers per hour from Tutuban to Alabang, and vice versa.
PNR embarked in a rehabilitation program for its locomotives to provide better trains for the commuters, increase the number of operational locomotives and improve train reliability.
The all-Filipino team of MRail and Desco performed the rehabilitation works for PNR. This is the first time that the rehabilitation of PNR locomotives took place in the Philippines.
MRail and Desco replaced the aging train control system with a more modern and highly-advanced micro-processor based computerized system to provide reliable and efficient performance of the engine. This is a new system installed in brand-new GE locomotives.
To ensure workmanship quality, the locomotive engine was sent to the GE facility in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA for overhauling and testing. The process was to ensure that only original GE replacement parts were used and proper tests were conducted.
Two other GE locomotives are undergoing completion by MRail and Desco. Once all the tests are completed, the MRail-Desco partnership will officially hand over the first two locomotives to the government by year-end.