DAVAO CITY – Commuter’s group Train Riders Network (TREN) expressed their dismay over the LRT-1’s collision at the Monumento station on Saturday morning, highlighting the hazards railway passengers face in the country.
“Not only are our trains inefficient and made more inaccessible due to higher fares, they have now become a major safety concern to everyday commuters,” said James Relativo, TREN’s spokesperson.
While various media groups have reported that no passengers were hurt, a passenger confirmed to TREN that he had to seek medical attention at St. Luke’s hospital shortly after the incident.
The said commuter’s left arm reportedly hit the stainless side seat railings of LRT-1 which left him with minor injuries.
Even though the line’s signaling system should have shut down the system after the occurrence of a power failure, a train from Monumento suddenly moved forward, hitting another train which was at a stop a little further away.
“Just a month ago we’ve seen a train from the Philippine National Railways (PNR) derail. In the past year, we’ve seen MRT-3 door panels falling on commuters, cars running with their doors open, and trains colliding with other trains to their eventual derailment. This is already too much,” added Relativo.
The group demanded that the LRTA and Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) investigate further and pay actual damages to said commuters who were hurt during the incident.
Meanwhile, the group also hit the DOTC’s continued implementation of the MRT-LRT fare hikes, saying that it did nothing in improving the condition of the railway system.
