Collision at MRT-3 delays deployment of trains

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Two maintenance vehicles of the Metro Rail Transit line 3 (MRT-3) collided before dawn Wednesday and later caused delays in the deployment of trains.

In an advisory, the MRT-3 management reported that two maintenance vehicles called “unimogs” crashed into each other between Buendia and Guadalupe stations at about 3 a.m. during track maintenance.

Transportation Undersecretary for Rails Timothy John Batan said the accident caused injuries and those hurt were already brought to the hospital.

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“Due to the accident, the insertion of trains which usually begins at 4:30 a.m. only started at 5:30 a.m.,” the MRT-3 management said.

By 6 a.m., eight trains had been inserted and passenger operations started minutes later. At 6:40 a.m., there were 14 operational trains and 14 trains running the entire line. Waiting time between trains was estimated at 7 minutes.

The a one-hour delay in the deployment of trains led to long lines at MRT-3 stations, which prompted some passengers to take buses and other forms of transportation to get to work on time, radio reports said.

Various government agencies led by the Transportation Department and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority responded by deploying buses to ferry affected commuters.

Management said the incident area was cleared as of 4:20 a.m. and the maintenance service vehicles had returned to the depot.

The MRT-3 apologized for the inconvenience. /cbb