MRT chief on breakdown: It happens

The 26-minute stoppage of the operations of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) that inconvenienced thousands of passengers last Monday afternoon was an ordinary train breakdown that "happens every now and then," retired police general and now MRT general manager Robert Lastimoso told The STAR yesterday.

"It was something out of the ordinary," Lastimoso said of the Monday incident. "This happens every now and then," he added.

Lastimoso said that such incidents are to be expected considering the daily wear and tear of the much-patronized rail line running the length of most of EDSA from its North Avenue station in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

Lastimoso pointed out that the rail line is almost ridden to "overcapacity" most days of the week.

"There will be some failure in the system, in the rolling stock, and the other components. It is not abnormal," Lastimoso said.

The Monday stoppage, Lastimoso explained, was brought about by problems with the power supply fluctuation from their power source.

"The fluctuation in the power supply caused a trip-off," he said.

The trip-off affected one of the trains of the network. Clearing the affected and bogged-down train needed 26 minutes. – Rainier Allan Ronda