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MANILA, Philippines—The Metro Rail Transit (MRT) trips are now slower. But would this mean a safer ride or more miseries for passengers?
On August 20, MRT trains started running at 40 kilometers per hour from the usual speed of 55-60 kilometers per hour.
The move was taken after a wayward MRT train rammed a barrier at Taft Station in Pasay City on August 13, injuring 38 people.
Atty. Hernando Cabrera, in a phone interview, explained that the slower speed of MRT trains is a safety procedure to prevent the overuse of the trains and the tracks.
“Our primary concern is safety reasons,” Cabrera said.
“With a slower speed, we will be able to lessen the occurrence of breakage and the overuse of trains and tracks,” he added.
Longer lines and waiting time
Cabrera admitted that passengers may have to endure longer waiting time and longer queues at the MRT’s 13 stations.
“The train availability will be lessened and more passengers will not be able to ride immediately,” he said citing more people would be coming compared to the availability of trains.
He said passengers should expect 10 to 15 minutes delay in the turnaround of the trains.
“But this is only temporary while we are undergoing rehabilitation of the system,” he said.
According to him, the MRT ridership has swelled to over 500,000 a day, far above its capacity of 350,000 passengers.
New MRT trains
According to him, of the 24 MRT trains, only the one that was derailed last August 13 was not being used.
He said, however, that four trains regularly undergo maintenance.
“So we have 19 trains operating during peak hours,” he said.
The MRT had procured 48 new coaches that are expected to arrive in August 2015, he said.
“A prototype of the new coaches will arrive in August 2015. If the prototype will be OK, then they can now start to deliver three trains every month,” he said.
He added that these would address the current train shortage.
On August 19, the Department of Transportation and Communications blamed human error for the accident.
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