Communications breakdown halts MRT

MANILA, Philippines–The Metro Rail Transit 3 stopped operating Thursday night following a break down of communications at the mass transport system’s control center.

The glitch forced packed MRT trains to stop at various stations.

After about 30 minutes of being asked to “wait for a while”, commuters were eventually told to alight saying communications between the operators and the control center, which directs railway traffic, could not be reestablished.

This was the fourth major malfunction at the government-run railway system this year.

On January 18, an escalator at its Ayala station abruptly stopped, leaving 16 people injured.

Two days later, a south-bound train got its break pad stuck causing a foul odor that triggered passengers to panic. Some sustained minor injuries.

On March 21, the third coach of an MRT-3 train got detached while traveling between Quezon Avenue and Kamuning stations. No one was hurt in the incident.

MRT-3’s railway has a total length of 16.95 kilometers from its Taft Avenue station in Pasay City to the North Avenue station in Quezon City.

Each train can carry about 1,000 passengers.