MRT-3 mishap was due to communication lapse — operations director
There was a lapse in communication.
This was the admission of Metro Rail Transit line 3 (MRT-3) director for operations Mike Capati on Wednesday after two of its maintenance trains (unimog) collided between the northbound section of the Buendia and Guadalupe stations.
“I think there was a lapse on the safety protocols. Nagkaroon po ng kulang ng komunikasyon between doon sa driver po on the track na siya po ay on the way na pabalik,” Capati said in a press conference.
“Since nagkaroon po ng communication lapse, hindi niya nalaman na mayroon pang gumagawa doon sa station between Buendia and Guadalupe,” he added.
Based on the initial investigation of the management, the driver of the train that bumped into the other train failed to communicate with his co-driver.
Drivers of the MRT-3 communicate with one another thru radio.
“Sa initial investigation namin, lumalabas na hindi nakapag-radyo ‘yong driver noong unimog na nakabangga sa OCS (Overhead Catenary System),” he said.
“But we are still finalizing kasi yong iba medyo puyat, ‘di na makausap, medyo natrauma yung iba, but those are the initial findings,” he added.
According to Capati, the tracks team of the maintenance trains was from the Taft Avenue station and was on its way back to the North Avenue station where the MRT-3 depot is located.
Capati noted that the tracks between Buendia and Guadalupe stations have both upward and downward slopes.
With this, drivers have a blind spot given the structure of the railways.
“Suddenly ‘yung driver po ng unimog nakita na may ginagawa po doon sa may bandang in between don sa Buendia and Guadalupe station,” he said.
“Pumreno siya, unfortunately kumapit man ‘yong preno, sa tindi ng bigat ng unimog sa kanyang dala-dala sa likod, hindi na kinaya ng preno,” Capati added.
The collision, which happened at 3 a.m., led to a delay in the deployment of trains and a disruption of passenger service.
The MRT-3 official said that around 5,000 passengers were affected by the delay of train deployment on Wednesday morning.
The accident also left seven MRT-3 personnel injured. /je
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