Poe says MRT needs more than just regular maintenance

Sen. Grace Poe (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) should study the need for an “extensive repair work,” which may necessitate the temporarily halt in the operations of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), Senator Grace Poe said on Wednesday.

“The DOTr should start the year with urgency in addressing this problem, that might require extensive repair work rather than just regular maintenance,” Poe said in a statement.

READ: Poe: DOTr should consider stopping MRT operations to fix problems

“But extensive repair might mean the need to put operations on hold, and without an alternative mass transport system to replace it, this would bring commuters greater woes. This is the challenge that the government should solve asap,” she added.

Poe issued the statement in light of the frequent breakdowns of the MRT-3 especially during the latter part of 2017.

These glitches, she said, only showed that “the current system is already on its last leg.”

“Hopefully, the new year will give the DOTr the chance to start fresh and show us that it is a department that is capable of making better management and engineering choices and not politically driven decisions,” Poe added.

Last Tuesday, 300 passengers at the North Avenue Station on Edsa experienced the second glitch of the transit line this 2018 due to a faulty speedometer. /jpv