Power failure causes long rush-hour queues at MRT

A power failure caused long rush-hour queues in some stations of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3) in Quezon City on Tuesday morning. Radio dzBB's Allan Gatus quoted MRT-3 personnel at the Kamuning station as saying that a power failure at around 7:28 a.m. affected MRT operations between North Avenue and Santolan in Quezon City. Trains at the other MRT-3 stations had to stop because the trains in brownout-affected areas were not moving. Transportation Department spokesman Dante Velasco said their initial investigation showed a high-speed circuit breaker tripped. Velasco, in an interview on dzBB radio, said the circuit breaker was located between the Kamuning and Cubao substations. "Iniimbestiga ngayon kung bakit nag-trip, ine-examine paano ma-avoid ang pag-trip (We are investigating the cause of the trip and how to prevent it from happening again)," he said. During the time that the operations were affected, the report said queues spilled into the street at the North Avenue station. However, as of 8:50 a.m., power has been restored and operations have gone back to normal. The MRT-3 line is located along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). It has thirteen stations along its 16.95km track which passes through the cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasay, Quezon City, and San Juan. –VVP, GMANews.TV