MRT train catches fire, unloads passengers

MANILA, Philippines — A train of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) caught fire, prompting the operator to unload passengers between the Cubao and Kamuning stations in Quezon City yesterday morning.

Commuters said they saw thick smoke billowing from the northbound train upon reaching the Nepa Q-Mart area at around 10:20 a.m.

The Department of Transportation said fire trucks were deployed near the elevated tracks to put out the blaze.

No one was reported injured during the incident.

The MRT-3 management limited its service due to the fire.

Normal operations resumed at around 11:10 a.m.

Authorities have yet to establish the cause of the fire.

At around 6 a.m., the MRT-3 implemented provisional service from Shaw Boulevard station to Taft Avenue due to a technical problem.

Last week alone, the MRT-3 recorded at least 15 technical problems.

Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, prodded the MRT management to take a technical evaluation of all coaches to make sure that life-threatening glitches do not occur.

Poe said the MRT-3 management should at the very least know the rail line’s status, and which systems are prone to breakdowns.

“The decision to suspend the whole operations of the MRT lies with the management whose technical staff are in a better position to assess the extent of the dangers posed to commuters,” she said.

 “Several weeks have passed since the MRT management assured us during budget deliberations that the railway was safe to operate, but in recent days such assurance seems dubious,” she added.