Senator Grace Poe expects to see prompt remedial action by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to effectively address Metro Rail Transit system woes bugging MRT daily commuters.
Poe pressed the DOTr on Thursday to immediately scrutinize the operations of the MRT Line 3 after a train carrying hundreds of passengers got detached while traversing interstation between the Buendia and Ayala stations in Makati City on Thursday’s morning rush hour.
Voicing concern as chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Services, Poe pointed out the need to ensure safety of MRT riders, even if it needs to suspend operations until adequate remedial measures are taken to avoid risks to some 500,000 MRT commuters.
In an interview, Poe said the safety of the passengers “is paramount, amid clamors to stop the operations of the MRT, which would affect half-a-million passengers daily.”
The senator added that daily glitches and technical problems bugging MRT operations “are but symptoms of larger problems waiting to happen.”
“Nobody can say riding the MRT is safe because, even if you are not an engineer, you see the problems every day. We need an expert to tell us if the MRT needs to suspend or continue its operations,” she said.
Poe expressed doubts in the wake of earlier assurances made by transportation officials in previous months that MRT is still safe, even as the senator noted that the latest potentially catastrophic incident happened a day after the transportation department said the MRT service has been improving.
Reports reaching the senator showed that one of the links between two MRT trains broke down, resulting in the separation of MRT coaches at 9:03 a.m., as commuters were on their way to work on Thursday.
Poe was informed that over 140 MRT passengers were evacuated from the detached train, even as no one was reported injured.
The senator’s office noted this was the second MRT glitch in one day after the first technical problem where passengers have to be unloaded at the Quezon Avenue station at 8:57 a.m. also on Thursday.
The reports indicated the unloaded MRT commuters were made to walk along the rails between Ayala and Buendia stations in Makati City due to what transportation officials blamed as “train failure.”
Train operations, however, resumed after some 30 minutes, the senator was told.
“If we need to suspend MRT operations, they need to say so because many commuters will be adversely affected; they may get angry because of the inconvenience caused by an MRT suspension, but what is more important is they are safe,” Poe said.
“So the transport [DOTr] officials should make a decision. Do they need to suspend operations to check the system? We need to ensure public safety.”
The senator suggested that “daily technical problems seemed to push passengers to their peril.”
Poe pressed the DOTr to immediately come up with a program of work on how long the supposed rehabilitation will take place, even as she expressed support for “any warranted emergency release of funds,” including hiring engineers and technical experts from abroad to examine the MRT and ensure the safety of passengers.
5 comments
Dapat talaga na unahin ang safety ng mga mananakay. Ipagpatuloy mo po yan Sen. Poe.
Salamat sa malasakit Sen.Grace. Sana nga po maayos na ang transportasyon ng pinas. Lalo na yang MRT.
Ayusin na sana ang serbisyo ng MRT. Kapakanan muna ng publiko. Tama lang na tigil pasada muna para sa kaligtasan ng nakararami.
Safety first before anything else. Wag na masyadong pabibo pa ang mga asa DOTr.
Dapat matgal ng inisip yan ng DOTr. Kailangan pa bang may malubhang masugatan bago umaksyon?