Private firms donate tents for MRT queues

THE DONATED tents for the long-suffering MRT passengers are turned over to the MMDA on Friday at its Makati City headquarters. MARICAR BRIZUELA

MANILA, Philippines—Donors from the private sector have stepped in to provide some relief for the thousands of passengers forced to form long rush-hour queues at Metro Rail Transit (MRT) stations.

Three companies—STI Education, Merck Consumer Health Group and Smart Communications—donated about 60 pop-up tents to shelter the riders while they endure the long lines that often spill out of the station and stretch all the way to the streets.

The tents were formally received Friday by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, which is in charge of installing them at the various stations along Edsa.

Long plagued by overcrowding and technical glitches, the 15-year-old rail system moves over half-a-million passengers daily, way above its intended capacity.

Transport officials said the first batch of the 48 new trains procured from a Chinese supplier would arrive in mid-2015. Maricar B. Brizuela