For 3rd straight day, glitch stops LRT-1 operations

For the third straight day this week, operations of the Light Rail Transit's Line 1 were disrupted after one of the coaches broke down at a downtown Manila station. LRT Administration spokesman lawyer Hernando Cabrera said the latest incident occurred at 9:14 a.m., when the affected train stalled at the Carriedo Station in Sta. Cruz. "LRT technicians ordered the passengers get off the train. After some repairs, the affected coach was taken to the Central Station for further inspection," Cabrera said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said the train was heading south to the Baclaran Station when it malfunctioned. But Cabrera did not mention the specific cause of the trouble that caused an eight-minute delay in Wednesday's LRT-1 operations. The incident occurred hours after Cabrera said the Department of Transportation and Communications had ordered an inspection of the LRT's fatalities following glitches last Monday and Tuesday. Last Monday, four passengers were reported hurt in a commotion triggered by smoke from a brake pad of an LRT train near the United Nations Avenue Station in Manila. Operations of LRT-1 stopped for about 10 minutes to let the passengers alight from the train. Last Tuesday, another glitch hit an LRT-1 train, with one of its coaches stalling in Sta. Cruz district Tuesday morning. An LRT coach failed to get going at about 9:20 a.m. on the southbound rail tracks, also near the Carriedo Station. — LBG, GMA News