Fire hits MRT in Sunday trip

SENATOR Grace Poe in a statement on Sunday, Nov. 5, called on the management of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) to “immediately take a more rigorous technical evaluation” of its coaches, following a reported fire that hit one of the cars on the northbound train that morning.

The northbound train was passing Nepa Q-Mart in Quezon City along EDSA. The fire prompted the evacuation of passengers.

The car where the fire was first detected underneath was finally moved to the depot a little past 11:00 a.m., and the provisional service put in place by authorities – with only the Taft Avenue to Shaw Boulevard segment of the northbound route allowed to run — was ended at 11:12 a.m., radio reports said.

Ms. Poe, following that incident, issued a statement saying in part: “Several weeks have passed since the MRT management assured us during budget deliberations that the line was still safe to operate but in recent days such assurance seems dubious now.”

“While I agree that prevention despite possible inconvenience is better than having a disaster, on the other hand, traffic is already as bad as it is, and it will get worse when the Christmas season kicks in. Thus, we can expect more stranded commuters without the MRT.”

“Nonetheless, the DoTr presumably has the technical expertise to assess the safety of the trains. If they do not act on this or continue to turn a blind eye, then the blame ultimately rests on their shoulders.” — with interaksyon.com