(Updated) TWO trains of the Light Rail Transit (LRT)-1 collided in Caloocan City Saturday morning due to a technical glitch.
Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) spokesperson Hernando Cabrera said the incident happened around 7 a.m. when a northbound train from Monumento station hit the rear end of a southbound train.
Cabrera said that the signaling system of LRT-1 suddenly malfunctioned after power supply in the area fluctuated.
No passenger was hurt in the collision.
A train operator, however, was slightly injured as he hit his head on the train's dashboard during the collision.
"Based on the assessment, no passenger was injured because the train was moving slowly. (The oncoming train) only hit the rear end of the other train, which at that time, was not moving," Cabrera said.
As of posting Saturday morning, the LRT operation was limited to Monumento station from Baclaran station. The LRT-1 connects Roosevelt in Quezon City to Baclaran in Pasay City.
"LRT 1 (is still on degraded operations. (The route is from) Baclaran to Monumento and back only. Technical personnel (are) still working to bring back full line operations," he said.
A commuters' group blamed the collision on poor maintenance.
Former LRT worker Sammy Malunes of commuters' group Riles Laan sa Sambayanan (Riles) Network said poor maintenance is the main cause of accidents in the country's rail systems.
"No, power fluctuations should not cause trains' collision. Any LRT worker can tell you that. Adjournments can be made by workers when there are power disruptions as long as trains' maintenance is okay," he said.
He said the private contractor APT Global, which maintains both the LRT and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) systems, "is merely pocketing the people's money."
"Incidents like these force us to confront the problem with the country's train systems. Private contractors are pocketing too much money while refusing to improve their service to the public," he added.
He said that despite the increase in train fares implemented by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DTOC) last January, the public continue to experience deterioration in the train systems' services.
Malunes said the Supreme Court should decide on petitions against the LRT and MRT fare hikes filed by various militant groups. (Sunnex)