Thousands stranded as train’s brakes malfunction

Thousands of passengers of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 were stranded for about an hour yesterday when the brakes of one of the trains traveling from Monumento to Baclaran broke down.

In a text message, Jinky Jorgio, public relations officer of the LRT Authority (LRTA), said a train bound for Baclaran lost air, which is important for the brakes, at the Pedro Gil station, causing the whole Line 1 to stop operations temporarily.

Passengers had waited in several LRT stations for the trains to arrive, unaware that one of the trains had malfunctioned.

Passengers at the Baclaran station were told to disembark the train. At the EDSA station in Pasay City, hundreds of passengers were refused entry while passengers were allowed to board the train and travel up to the Pedro Gil station. The rest had to wait until the railway was cleared.

Normal operations resumed at around 12 noon.

Meanwhile, one of the trains of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) traveling from Taft Avenue station in Pasay City to North Avenue station in Quezon City also experienced a malfunction in the brakes.

The train that departed past noon from Taft Avenue wiggled near the Magallanes station.

Smoke was emitted and entered the train, prompting passengers to disembark and transfer to another train.

A few minutes later, however, the same train continued its travel to the North Avenue station.