MRT glitch-free streak ends; train bogs down

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Twenty-eight days after the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) reported its last glitch, operations at the MRT-3 were once again disrupted after a southbound train bogged down at the Araneta Center-Cubao Station on Tuesday morning.

In a service advisory, MRT-3 media relations officer Aly Narvaez said the train unloaded about a thousand passengers when the train suffered a problem at 9:13 a.m.

Narvaez said the train experienced “door failure,” which may be caused by persons leaning on train doors or passengers forcing them open.

The train, Narvaez said, would undergo preventive maintenance and replacement of door components after the incident.

On the other hand, disembarked commuters were loaded in the next train that arrived at the station six minutes after the glitch.

As of 9:45 a.m., Narvaez said there were 15 trains operational, with 14 of them running along the transit line.

Tuesday’s unloading incident brings to an end the 28-day glitch-free streak—its longest in seven years—recorded by the embattled train line, which had been plagued by constant breakdowns and passenger unloading incidents.

Since last year, however, the MRT 3 had been showing significant progress.

It even managed to field 18 trains for the first time in six months on May 10. /jpv

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