System failure hits MRT

A system failure in a northbound train of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) resulted in an explosion, an emergency stop, and a stampede of passengers between the stations of Buendia and Guadalupe in Makati late yesterday afternoon.

Former Philippine National Police and Land Transportation Office chief Roberto Lastimoso, now the MRT general manager, said that the incident was a plain and simple "system failure."

"There was no sabotage behind it," Lastimoso said.

The problem in the overhead cable system, Lastimoso explained, may have been brought about by fluctuation in the power supply for the particular train.

This resulted in a short-circuit of the wire system and the explosion.

The train, he said, came to an emergency stop near the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) building with passengers stampeding out after the doors of the train opened.

No one was seriously hurt in the stampede, he said.

While the incident was not ordinary, Lastimoso said that "it happens," echoing what he said during a failure of the same rail line a week ago that inconvenienced passengers with a 26 minute wait.

Lastimoso said that the operation of the rail line continues with technical personnel running it through one track.

He said that while this ensured continued operations of the MRT, he said that this meant a slower run. — Rainier Allan Ronda