Code red at LRT

Line 1 of the Light Rail Transit (LRT), now being run by local engineers and technicians of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), suffered two "code red" incidents yesterday, encountering mechanical problems that caused a stoppage of more than 10 minutes.

The stoppage caused hundreds of passengers to be inconvenienced, with some being stuck inside coaches and others waiting in line at the stations from Monumento in Caloocan City to Baclaran in Parañaque City in the morning of the first work day of the week.

LRTA officials said the first code red incident occurred at around 9 a.m. when a south-bound train slowed to a stop due to mechanical problems affecting other trains of the system. It was learned that after more than 40 minutes of repairs, the train and the entire network was able to run again at around 9:45 a.m.

The second incident came a few minutes later at around 10:55 a.m. when another train also suffered mechanical problems stopping operations of the entire system. After swift troubleshooting work by LRTA mechanics, the train was fixed and the rail system was able to run again at around 11:10 a.m.

The two incidents yesterday ended a three-day "honeymoon" for local engineers who now have to run the LRT line without technical assistance from a foreign consultant, particularly Belgian firm Transurb Technirail (TNR). The foreign engineers previously ran the line for about two years until their contract with the government expired last May 15.

It will be recalled that the smooth operation of the LRT line for the last three days had been seen as a confirmation that the government does not need to extend the contract of TNR while the government was bidding out a new contract for the technical consultancy job for LRT’s Line-1.

Some sectors inside the LRTA are pushing for the extension of the contract with TNR until July to ensure the safety of passengers.

However, in a phone interview, LRTA administrator Teodoro Cruz clarified there was only one code red incident that occurred yesterday, taking place at 9 a.m. and was quickly repaired .

Cruz said that the lone incident should not be viewed negatively but positively since it showed that LRTA engineers can skillfully perform the troubleshooting of any mechanical problem that may arise without the help from foreign consultants.

Cruz pointed out that such mechanical problems should be expected since the LRT Line-1 trains are old, being in operation for almost 20 years.

"These mechanical problems should be expected since Line-1 has been an 18-year-old operation," Cruz told The Star.

The administrator also pointed out that engaging the service of a foreign technical consultant does not ensure that there will be no "code red" incidents, revealing that there were such incidents when TNR was running Line-1.

Cruz said that last year, Line 1 recorded eight code reds under the technical stewardship of TNR. Starting this year and until May 15 when their contract lapsed, he said that there have been four code reds.