MRT-3 unloads 700 passengers due to door glitch

Following the malfunction, the MRT-3 said the incident was under investigation. However, it said that such cases may be caused by passengers leaning or forcing the train doors open.(File Photo: MRT-3 Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — Some 700 passengers were offloaded from a Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) train on Wednesday due to the malfunction of one of the train’s doors.

In a statement, the MRT-3 said at 7:18 a.m., one of its northbound trains unloaded its passengers at Ayala Station.

Following the malfunction, the MRT-3 said the incident was under investigation. However, it said that such cases may be caused by passengers leaning or forcing the train doors open.

“The cause of the door failure is still under investigation. However, a common reason is stress on door components, which may be caused by leaning on the door or forcing it open,” the statement read.

After the unloading incident, the MRT-3 said the affected passengers were immediately loaded into the next train, which arrived five minutes later.

Passengers of the rail line are reminded not to lean on train doors or force it open.

As of 11:45 a.m., the MRT-3 said 14 trains were operational in the rail line with 13 trains currently running at headway — the time between trains — of 9.5 minutes.

Last week, a technical issue with the MRT-3’s Overhead Catenary System resulted in a 20-minute delay in the train operations, the rail service said, adding that no passengers were unloaded in the incident.