Switch problem strands LRT passengers

An equipment upgrade on the aging Light Rail Transit (LRT) backfired as employees returning to work after an extended Holy Week break were stranded Tuesday during rush hour. The problem at the LRT-1, this time involving a newly installed signaling system, lengthened the wait interval between trains from five minutes to up to 10 minutes. "We just installed a new signaling system. We think it may have caused some problems," LRT public relations consultant Jinky Jorgio told dzBB radio. She said that while the LRT was shut down during the Holy Week, technicians installed the new system for the 23-year-old transportation facility. The LRT-1, which started operations in 1984, services passengers from Baclaran in Parañaque City and Monumento in Caloocan City. Jorgio said the new equipment caused a delay in the interval between trains from the usual five minutes to "eight to 10" minutes. The LRT and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) train systems have been repeatedly hit by operations disruptions, usually blamed on wear and tear as well as massive commuter volume. The LRT Authority recently said train ridership in February grew six percent to 9.42 million as more trains were made available to the public. Management has yet to report its collection for 2006. During the first nine moths of 2006, it recorded a net loss of P896.30 million, up 48 percent from P606 million it registered in the same period in 2005. LRTA's Line 1 posted a net loss of P187.22 million from P227 million. Revenues slightly went up to P1.18 million from P1.10 million. - GMANews.TV