The Metro Railway Transit-3 were disrupted Tuesday afternoon after a man fell onto the tracks between Ayala Avenue and Gil Puyat Avenue stations in Makati City.
Mas Sandamon, 21, a resident of Marang Sumisip, Basilan, died on the spot from severe head injuries after he reportedly jumped and fell onto the tracks at 12:30 p.m.
The MRT management is investigating if Sandamon, whom they described as a vagrant, jumped or accidentally fell onto the tracks.
Trains operated only between the North Avenue station in Quezon City and the Shaw Boulevard station in Mandaluyong City for about two hours.
The incident added to the traffic buildup in parts of EDSA, the Metro Manila Development Authority said.
This was the second time in two years that a man jumped onto the MRT tracks.
In March 2017, the MRT 3 trips from Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City and vice versa were suspended after a passenger jumped onto the tracks at Guadalupe Station in Makati City.
MRT personnel rescued the passenger lying underneath of the third coach of the train, which was running when he jumped.
Also in November 2017, the right arm of a 24-year-old information technology firm employee was sliced off in an accident at the MRT Ayala Station.
But attending doctors successfully reattached the limb of Angeline Fernando at the Makati Medical Center hours after the accident.
Reports said Fernando had just gotten off the train at MRT 3 Ayala Station when she felt dizzy and fell on the tracks.
Lawmakers expressed concerns over the safety of commuters who endure the long lines and the loss of service when riding the MRT trains.
The MRT-3 line serves 13 stations starting at North Avenue and ends at Taft Avenue, serving the cities that EDSA passes through: Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Pasay.
It started its operation in 1999 as the country’s second rapid transit line in Metro Manila. It forms part of the rail transport infrastructure, including the Manila Light Rail Transit System composed two lines which are the LRT 1 and MRT 2, and the Metro Commuter Line of the Philippine National Railways.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation said it has deployed one of the trains made by Chinese Dalian for a limited run starting Tuesday.
The DOTr said Dalian train set equivalent to three train coaches were expected to hit the tracks of MRT 3 mainline during evening off-peak hours, from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. starting Oct. 15.
The move came after MRT 3’s Japanese maintenance provider, Sumitomo Corp.,-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-TES Philippines, signed on Monday a consent for the limited deployment of one Dalian train set.
The consent indicates that the train set will be deployed for an initial trial period lasting up to when the maintenance provider begins its rail replacement work in November 2019.
