By ABS-CBNnews.com | ABS-CBNnews.com | August 28, 2015

MANILA – Senator Grace Poe wants to inspect the prototype train for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) when the Senate panel resumes its hearing on the railway system on September 10.

 The Senate Committee on Public Services, co-chaired by Poe, will tackle the progress of the rehabilitation plan being implemented by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) for the MRT-3.

Poe said the upcoming hearing will see if the trains are compatible with the MRT-3 system.

The trains were made by China's Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. Ltd. CNR Group. The DOTC is spending P3.759 billion for the purchase of the trains from China.

Poe said her committee will also look into the contract with the supplier. “We have to make sure that liability of the supplier is specified in case the trains have defects or if they prove to be incompatible with the MRT-3 system," she said.

She said she will also ask the DOTC officials to explain the delay in the delivery of the 48 new train cars.

Initially set to arrive in batches starting September 2015, the delivery of the 48 new train cars will start in January 2016.

"Every delay means more hours wasted by MRT-3 commuters in the long queues in train stations,” Poe said.

Poe said the DOTC owed the commuters an explanation for the delay.