BFP finally allows LRTA to examine damaged LRT

File photo of the LRT line 2 when its power rectifier bursts into flames. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

It took a week before the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) was finally allowed to examine the two rectifiers (transformers) that exploded and caught fire on Oct. 3, leading to the shutdown of the entire LRT Line 2 for five days.

On Thursday, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) gave the LRTA access to the rectifiers at Anonas, Quezon City, and the Santolan depot in Pasig City after the House of Representatives criticized the bureau for its slowness on investigating the blasts and fire that crippled the train system.

The BFP had barred the LRTA from moving and assessing the transformers while it was conducting its probe.

Because of the explosion, the LRTA said the LRT 2's Anonas, Katipunan and Santolan stations would be closed for six to nine months while its personnel repair and replace the damaged equipment. The stations from Cubao to Recto resumed operations on Oct. 8.

One down, one more to go

As of Thursday morning, they have accessed only the rectifier in Anonas, LRTA spokesperson Hernando Cabrera said.

On Wednesday, he told the House of Representatives looking into the incident that they had yet to examine the transformers since Oct. 3, because jurisdiction had been turned over to the BFP.

The move, however, effectively hindered LRTA commissioning engineers from assessing which parts needed to be replaced.

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