THE transportation department is taking drastic measures to ensure unloading incidents at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 will be lessened.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade warned passengers that they may face lawsuits if they forcibly jam train doors, which cause malfunctions in the system.
He directed the management of the MRT 3 to identify passengers who may cause unloading incidents by leaning against train doors, stopping the door from closing or forcibly opening train doors.
Tugade also ordered the management to look into last Friday’s unloading incident, which was caused by a passenger who jammed a train door to enter the train car.
“The unloading incident last Friday is not about the parts; it’s about the passenger,” he said. “From now on, we will file charges against those who lean against train doors, or forcibly open the train door when closing.”
For the first time in 11 days, the MRT management had to unload 1,000 passengers on a southbound train due to door malfunction.
Passengers were loaded in the next train that arrived four minutes later. Despite this, MRT 3 was still able to deploy 15 trains at the mainline.
Transportation Director for Communication Goddess Hope O. Libiran said cases pertaining to door malfunction may include “civil action, specifically damage to property or criminal case, malicious mischief.”
“Also, please note that our MRT 3 trains are almost 18 years old, and are due for their every eight years general overhaul. Because of this, we have to take measures that will reduce the strain on the trains’ mechanical components,” she said in a text message.
Door malfunction is among the top causes of unloading incidents at the MRT 3.
“We are hoping that with combined community enforcement and stricter enforcement by MRT 3 personnel, we can reduce the number of people who lean against or force doors to open. This will lessen stress on the mechanical components of the doors, and decrease door-related unloading incidents,” Libiran said.
The MRT 3 has been consistently running with about 15 to 17 trains daily, an improvement attributed to the arrival of spare parts and general maintenance conducted over the Holy Week.