By TED CORDERO, GMA Integrated News | Published April 13, 2023 6:43 pm

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is pushing for the installation of platform barriers at the stations of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) after an elderly woman died after jumping on the railway line’s tracks.


In a statement on Thursday, Transportation Assistant Secretary for Railways and MRT-3 officer-in-charge Jorjette Aquino said that the agency has been proposing the installation of platform barriers in the MRT-3 “as an additional safety measure to prevent passengers from falling from the platform to the tracks, whether intentional or unintentional.”


“However, due to budgetary constraints, the proposals to establish platform barriers have not yet materialized,” Aquino said.


Nevertheless, she said that “the DOTr-MRT3 will still pursue the proposal.”


On Wednesday, the MRT-3 implemented a provisionary service between Shaw Boulevard Station and Taft Avenue Station after a 73-year-old woman jumped onto the southbound tracks of the Quezon Avenue Station at around 11:57 a.m.


The woman was rescued at noon and brought to a nearby hospital but she died a few hours later.


The DOTr official said installation of platform screen doors is already included in ongoing railway projects such as the North-South Commuter Railway and Metro Manila Subway Project.


“However, our existing rail lines do not have these platform barriers yet,” Aquino said.


“In the meantime, Station personnel and the Security Services provided will be instructed to implement strict measures to prevent the passengers from crossing the yellow line/marker in the platforms while the trains have not yet come to a full stop at the stations. They will also continue to profile passengers on 'out of the normal movements',” she added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News