Thousands of passengers were stranded during the rush hour on Tuesday morning after the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) went on provisional operation.
The incident is the latest in a string of glitches befalling the troubled rail transit system.
Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya said the MRT-3 suffered broken rails, disrupting the operations of the trains shortly before 7 a.m.
Abaya said the trains had limited operations from North Avenue station in Quezon City to Shaw Boulevard station in Mandaluyong City and vice versa.
Full operations of the MRT-3, however, resumed 7:40 a.m.
Abaya asked for understanding from the riding public, saying improvements are coming their way.
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“Pasensiya po ulit kung kami ang naging dahilan na na-late kayo sa trabaho sa araw na ito,” he said.
(We apologize if we have caused you to arrive late to your place of work today.)
He assured the more than 600,00 daily commuters of the MRT-3 that the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) is doing its best to improve the trains’ services.
“Marami kaming ginagawa. Marami kaming improvements bagaman alam kong may karapatan ang taong bayan na mainip dahil long overdue na itong magagandang serbisyo na dapat maranasan po nila,” he said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990AM.
(We are doing a lot [of improvements]. We have many improvements lined up, although I am aware that the public has the right to feel impatient because these improved services are long overdue.)
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He said new trains of the MRT-3 would arrive starting January 2015, which are among the 48 new MRT-3 coaches ordered by the government from Dalian, China. CDG