Commuters stranded after LRT mishap

Thousands of Metro Manila commuters were stranded yesterday morning when Light Rail Transit (LRT) operations were halted for at least five hours after one of its train was almost derailed between the Central and United Nations stations, LRT officials said.

At least 200 early dawn passengers were on board the LRT coaches when the incident happened. The near-derailment of the train was reportedly caused by eight misaligned wheels that resulted in six-inch long and one-centimeter deep carvings on the iron tracks.

Reports said that at 5:15 a.m. yesterday, LRT operation was halted when a train, cruising near the United Nation Avenue station in Ermita, Manila, experienced mechanical problems. The LRT resumed operation only at 10:45 a.m.

"When the problem was detected, we immediately stopped our operation because it is dangerous to go on," said LRTA public information chief Ermie Chang.

"This is the first time this kind of incident happened in our 18-year of operation," said LRT operations chief Rod Bulario. "It is a good thing our train operator immediately sensed the abnormal condition of his wheels."

Bulario said the train had come to a complete stop on the tracks midway between the stations, but then it lurched forward when it began moving again. Bulario attributed the defect to an engine abnormality.

"This is due to the fact that our trains are 18 years old when normally, trains abroad are replaced after 10 years. It is only in the Philippines that they (LRT trains) are made to run this long," he said.

The suspension of the LRT operations caused heavy traffic congestion along Taft and Rizal Avenues where LRT passengers scrambled for jeepney and bus rides.

On an ordinary weekday, the LRT transports some 350,000 commuters in Metro Manila, generating revenues of some P1 million a day, LRT officials said. – Sheila Crisostomo and Jose Aravilla