MRT train emits 'smoke'; 3rd incident in a day

ABS-CBNnews.com

MANILA - Passengers of a Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3) train were forced to evacuate the train after "smoke" started emanating from the train Tuesday afternoon.

A YouTube video of the incident showed passengers disembarking from the train just as it reached the Boni Avenue Station past 3 p.m.

MRT General Manager Roman Buenafe later clarified that the smoke was actually freon, and that nothing was burning inside the train.

"Yung initial na information na pinadala sa akin, it was freon from the aircon seeping through the vent. It is not smoke coming from a burning object. It is refrigerant seeping out," he said in an ANC Top Story interview.

The incident on Boni Avenue station was the third to affect MRT operations on Tuesday.
Buenafe said two northbound and southbound trains made sudden stops at 09:39 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday due to the deployment of the trains' automatic train protection (ATP) brakes.
An MRT passenger earlier said passengers fell like dominoes after the train made a sudden stop near the Santolan station.
Buenafe said two female passengers on the southbound train complained of bruises after the incident while a third passenger on the northbound train also said she suffered injuries.

The MRT official said the ATP is a safety feature that is meant to protect the train in case there are problems such as open coach doors or if there is power fluctuation.

Due to the age of the trains, some of the sensors that activate the ATP could have been dislodged.
"Sa edad na rin po nung tren at nayayanig din po sa riles natin, may instance na na-di-dislodge itong feature and will entail that ATP brake to deploy," he said.

He also said the ATP is supposed to make a sudden stop. The normal speed of the MRT is currently at 40 kph, from 65 kph.

"When the ATP is deployed, parang tutukod sa riles. It is a braking member," he said.
To avoid falling during sudden stops, he urged MRT passengers to hold on to the straps while inside the train.

"Hold on to the straps of the train as an added safety precaution and I will tell you right now, lacking na po ang handstraps dun so that is another improvement for my rehab plan," he said.

The Department of Transportation and Communications earlier said it did not receive any bids for the train system's maintenance contract, leaving the maintenance to its current contractor APT Global.
The government intends to buy out the corporate owner of the line, MRT Corp., which is wholly owned by MRT Holdings II Inc. of businessman Robert John L. Sobrepeña.