Latest MRT problem: Door opens while train is moving

The latest Metro Rail Transit (MRT) glitch has got everyone talking once more.

Disturbing door

On Tuesday, September 2, a photo circulating on social media showed that a door suddenly opened while the train was running along the Magallanes station.

MRT Spokesperson Hernando Cabrera said they are already investigating the incident: “Ang protocol ng tren if it is open yung door niya, dapat di siya makakatakbo. Kung tumatakbo, and suddenly bumukas, dapat titigil siya. That’s what happened. It’s a maintenance thing, so we have do something about it. Immediately after that, noong incident na yon, pinadala na namin sa depot yung tren para i-investigate what happened kasi critical yun.”

But then doors that suddenly open are just one of the MRT’s many problems.

Recto slams DOTC

Too little, too late—and for far too much money.

That’s the assessment of Senator Ralph Recto of the measures put forward by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to improve service and safety standards for the MRT-3.

Following a recent string of system glitches that have caused service disruptions, the senator laid the blame at the door of the DOTC for its failure to secure a qualified maintenance contractor after the contract with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation ended.

Recto also slammed the DOTC for not planning for the massive rise in demand for reliable mass transit in Metro Manila.

“Noong pinalitan yung maintenance provider, dun nag-umpisa, that’s one. The second problem is the lack of foresight of DOTC. In 2020, Metro Manila will double in size, we will be roughly 20 million (people). You need to double, triple the capacity of MRT, and ensure a good maintenance provider,” Recto said.

Major maintenance move

APT Global’s Maintenance contract for the Metro Rail Transit System expires tomorrow, September 4th. But the government has yet to conduct a bidding to select its next maintenance provider.

That leaves it with little option but to resort to yet another stopgap measure until a new contractor is in place.

“We have to extend their contract on a month to month basis. Noong dumating kami doon, inabutan namin ang bid documents. Earlier pa dapat binigay sa DOTC. DOTC, on its part, kelangan pa review-hin. Kelangan din review ng MRTC,” Cabrera says.

Lack of foresight

This scheduling issue seems to be another symptom of the lack of foresight that Recto is railing against. He added that allotting another P53 billion for the government’s proposed equity value buyout of the MRT-3 will be tantamount to sending good money after bad.

“Yung buy out na yan, nag-umpisa ang pag-uusap 2009 pa. In fact, they bought the bonds already of MRT way back in 2008. Gumastos na tayo dyan ng P40B a year. Hindi nakinabang ang tao. Lalong sumama, and then now we’re talking about another P53 billion, hindi makikinabang ang tao diyan at lalong tatagal yung problema,” Recto says.

Recto also warns compatibility issues may arise once the new MRT-3 trains from China arrive, since these new trains are supplied by a different maker.