Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 12) — Train passengers were once again inconvenienced Friday morning as the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 suffered a technical glitch that lasted almost two hours.
At around 7 a.m., riders of a southbound train between the Ayala and Magallanes stations were asked to disembark and walk along the rails back to Ayala station.
The trains were operational only from North Avenue to Shaw Boulevard stations, resulting in long lines in the subsequent stations.
MRT Operations Manager Deo Manalo said the MRT was already in full service by 8:47 a.m.
“Nagkaroon po ng failure sa interstation natin between Ayala and Magallanes southbound, nagkaroon po ng tinatawag na drive interlocking with pantograph error,” MRT Spokesperson Atty. Mike Tezon told CNN Philippines.
[Translation: There was a failure at our interstation between Ayala and Magallanes southbound, there was a so-called interlocking with pantograph error.]
Tezon explained that the technical glitch resulted in a power outage in the train.
“Ang ibig sabihin, hindi na po umandar yung tren kasi nagkaroon…kasi may dashboard po kasi yung mga train natin. Nag-illuminate po dun yung ilaw na nagkaroon ng pantograph error, so parang walang power yung train so hindi makaandar,” he said.
[Translation: This means, the train could not run…because our trains have a dashboard. The light indicating a pantograph error illuminated, meaning the train had no power and could not run.]
Tezon said before being dispatched for public use, the train that malfunctioned underwent the usual “train preparation,” wherein all its functions were checked.
He added it is now brought to a pocket track in Taft Avenue, which will then be brought to the depot in Quezon City by the end of operating hours for thorough inspections, so as not to interrupt regular train operations.
Tezon said as of 12:20 noon, 15 trains are operational, and the entire mainline is already in full service, despite another technical difficulty around 10:30 a.m.
CNN Philippines’ Correspondent JC Gotinga and Digital Producer Ver Marcelo contributed to this report.
