Glitch forces MRT to limit trips

MANILA, Philippines - Commuters of the Metro Rail Transit were inconvenienced anew on Thursday night as the MRT management had to implement provisional service.

Reports said southbound passengers were asked to disembark at the Shaw Boulevard station at past 8 p.m.

MRT operations were limited only from the North Avenue station in Quezon City to Shaw Boulevard station in Mandaluyong.

Prior to this, a northbound train had to stop and unload passengers at the Santolan Anapolis station due to train failure. Normal operations resumed at past 9 p.m.

MRT commuters were told to get off the train at the GMA Kamuning station at 6:14 a.m. yesterday due to a technical problem.

Earlier, MRT general manager Roman Buenafe admitted that cracks were seen in 12 bogey frames of the MRT, contrary to reports that only four trains have cracks in their bogeys.

A bogey is the chassis or framework to which axles are attached.

Buenafe, an appointee of former transportation secretary Joseph Abaya, said the MRT’s service provider would replace the cracked bogeys with “rotational spares.”

In an interview, Department of Transportation spokesperson Cherie Mercado said the agency was planning to replace the old rails of the MRT as these may be among the causes of the cracks.

The MRT suffered technical problems 54 times in August alone.

Meanwhile, portions of EDSA-Taft will be closed to traffic for the installation of four MRT coaches.

 The innermost lane of EDSA-Taft southbound will be closed from 8 p.m. today, and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow.