(CNN Philippines) — Brake problems early Thursday morning (April 30) caused the MRT to operate only from its Shaw Boulevard to Taft Stations and vice versa.
At the North Avenue Station, security guards announced the disruption at around 6:20 a.m., but some passengers there said that the line had not moved as early as 6:00 a.m.
The MRT Control Center said that it resumed normal operations by 8:11 a.m.
Passengers lined up at the North Avenue Station were forced to take buses after the announcement that the trains were running on a limited operation.
The hundreds of MRT passengers at the station occupied up to two lanes of the southbound side of EDSA hoping to get on a cab or a bus.
The situation was similar at the Quezon Avenue Station.
On social media, there were also photos of passengers who got off the trains and were walking on the tracks to reach the next station.
One passenger, Katrina Lau, who works as an on-the-job trainee in Makati, said that this is the fourth time for her to experience glitches in the MRT. She has just started her training two weeks ago.
Her shift starts at 8:00 a.m. and explained that she would always take the train as early as 6:00 a.m. to avoid getting late.
“Super hassle. Perwisyo talaga. Kung may ganito kasi late na naman nakakahiya,” she said.
[Translation: “It’s a big hassle. It’s really a nuisance. If there are glitches I will be late for work again. It’s embarrassing.”]
She had no option but to take the bus.
Bus commuters also bore the brunt of the glitch as they had to compete with MRT passengers just to get a ride.
Related: MRT woes push commuters to take the bus
Some passengers affected by Thursday’s glitch were office and construction workers whose jobs are located in the business districts in Makati and in Mandaluyong.
Mel Pomeda, who works at a construction site on Shaw Boulevard, said he had no choice but to call his superiors and tell them that he would work half day.
This would reduce his wage for the day, but he said that it is useless to get angry so he would just have to remain calm.
Last April 21, MRT was forced to run with only four trains, according to MRT General Manager Roman Buenafe, after its trains were sent to the depot to fix air-conditioning problems.
The MRT is set to undergo rehabilitation after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released a fund of P1.2 billion, in which 75% will go to the upgrading and the eventual replacement of its outdated signaling system.
Related: P1.2B MRT rehab seeks to relieve commuter stress
