The management of the Metro Rail Transit-3 apologized on Thursday, June 2, to all its passengers who were caught in a huge build-up of commuters in its Ortigas Station on Wednesday, June 1.
In a statement, the MRT-3 attributed the build-up of commuters to the escalator which malfunctioned during rush hour. That escalator, according to the MRT-3 management, serves as entry point for its commuters while the stairway is the exit point.
Following the closure of the escalator, the northbound became the single access for entering and exiting passengers.
"The narrow walkway at the street-level area contributed to the build-up as only one person can walk through at a time. However, no long queues were observed inside the MRT-3 platform and concourse area," the statement read.
The MRT-3 management said they immediately sought the assistance of technicians from the subcontractor of the maintenance provider and fixed the escalator problem.
While the escalator is being fixed, it said MRT-3 personnel implemented a "stop-and-go" scheme to control and manage the crowd. This resulted in crowded and long queues at the station, photos and videos of them became viral in social media.
The passenger flow was also normalized at around 9:30 a.m., according to the statement.
"We extend our deepest apologies to all our passengers who were inconvenienced by the incident. We assure the public that we will take all the necessary steps, such as deployment of stand-by technicians, and close coordination with the Road Sector in crowd management, to prevent this incident from happening again," the MRT-3 statement read.