It’s safe to ride the MRT, officials say

Despite technical glitches and issues still hounding the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3), the MRT is safe to ride, transportation officials assured the public on Wednesday.

In a press conference at the MRT depot in Quezon City, DOTr and MRT-3 officials addressed questions about the train system’s safety and reliability as more unloading incidents and service interruptions plagued the MRT, which caters to more than half a million passengers daily.

“Sinisigurado namin ang ating commuters na ang pagpapatakbo namin ng MRT ay safe,” Transportation Assistant Secretary TJ Batan said.

“Ligtas po ang ating pagpapatakbo ng MRT dahil marami tayong nilalagay na operational measures upang masigurado na lahat ng lumalabas na tren sa depot ay ligtas,” Batan said.

“May checklist na binabantayan ng operations department at hanggang hindi pa naki-clear sa checklist, hindi natin papalalabasin ang tren,” he said.

In fact, since the DOTr’s maintenance transition team (MTT) took over the MRT’s maintenance in November, the number of unloading incidents decreased, according to MRT Director for Operations Mike Capati.

Capati said that when Busan Universal Rail Inc. (Buri) was still maintaining the system, the MRT had an average of 39 breakdowns in a month.

But since the MTT took over last November, unloading incidents have gone down to an average of 24 monthly, he said. /cbb