The LRT-2 is safe, its management said Monday and described as “isolated” the collision of two coaches that injured 34 people on Saturday.
One of the trains encountered a problem in its power supply on Saturday afternoon and was transferred to an emergency parking area between the Anonas and Katipunan stations. Hours later, the unmanned train started moving on its own and wound up on the eastbound track, where it crashed into another train.
The Transport department said LRT Line 2 was a safe mode of transportation despite the collision of two trains between Cubao and Anonas on Saturday.
“The collision was an isolated incident,” the department said in a statement.
President Rodrigo Duterte is awaiting the results of the investigation into the collision of the two trains, the Palace said Monday.
“Of course, the President is concerned, that’s why he’s waiting for the result of the investigation. The whys and the wherefores of the accident,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters.
The Lawyers for Commuter Safety and Protection on Monday said those hurt in the collision of the two trains may file a case against the Light Rail Transit Authority.
Ariel Inton, the group’s founding president, said “I don’t believe they [the victims] could not file a case as a remedy. What assistance could they get if they do not?”
The incident was a first in the LRT 2’s 15-year operation, said the railway management’s spokesman Hernando Cabrera.
“This is an isolated incident. Generally, our trains are safe, our system is also safe,” Cabrera told ABS-CBN News.
The LRT Authority was investigating if the unmanned train’s brakes were disengaged accidentally, and was determining its speed during the crash and the incline of the train tracks in the area, he said.
“As Secretary [Arthur] Tugade said, this is a very serious issue. This involves the safety of our passengers. This should be investigated so we could know the truth about what happened with the train that moved on its own.”
Cabrera also said the manned train could not not have moved backwards because it would have hit another train.
It would also have been dangerous to unload the passengers while the unmanned train was barreling toward them.
Several passengers were still in the hospital as of Monday morning, including a grade 8 student whose jaw cracked, another who was suffering muscle spasms and a patient with traumatic anxiety, Cabrera said. Darwin G. Amojelar, Nat Mariano and Rio N. Araja