LRT-1 door slams shut on passengers; no one hurt

Light Rail Transit 1 (LRT-1). (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

Light Rail Transit 1 (LRT-1). (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA — If the hit Korean movie “Train to Busan” didn’t scare the life off of you, a 30-second video of a Baclaran-bound Light Rail Transit-1 (LRT-1) train might do.

Passenger Seemon Florano uploaded on his Facebook page Monday noon a short clip of one of the LRT’s train doors slamming shut in a split second. The video has since gone viral and has been viewed a million times, and has been shared by more than 23,000 users, as of Tuesday night.

Florano shot the video while passengers were about to alight at the Vito Cruz station. Seconds after incoming passengers came in the coach, alarms signalling the closing of the doors went off. But instead of slowly closing, the doors suddenly slammed shut.

WATCH: LRT-1 door slams shut on passengers

In fact, Florano said that when he boarded the train, he was slightly hit near his shoulders. He added though that he didn’t have to seek medical attention because of the incident.

Rochelle Gamboa, corporate communications head of Light Rail Manila Corp., assured the public that the faulty door in the video has been repaired immediately.

“We are doing our very best to be proactive on the maintenance of the 32-year-old train system while awaiting government procurement of new trains,” Gamboa said in a statement.

Following the incident, the LRT-1 posted on its Twitter page a video reminding passengers to keep their hands away from the door edge.

This incident isn’t the first time the country’s first train line figured in controversy.

Just in March this year, passenger James Jun Cubelo posted on his Facebook page a video of an LRT-1 train traveling with its doors open.

Florano expressed hope his video would be able to “call the attention” of authorities “for the safety of the passengers.”  SFM

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