Lightning strikes twice: LRT-2 trips disrupted anew

For the second time in about a month, a bolt of lightning struck the power cables of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 on a rainy Tuesday morning and interrupted regular train operations. Hundreds of commuters were forced to walk along the tracks between the Santolan and Katipunan stations under heavy rains. Jinky Jorgio, LRT public relations consultant, told GMANews.TV that the "catenary wire which supplies power to the coaches were struck by lightning at about 8:45 a.m." The lightning strike halted trips between the Santolan and Katipunan stations. Trips from the Anonas station in Quezon City to the Recto station in Manila City, however, continued regular operations. Jorgio was unable to immediately say how long the service interruption would last. She noted, however, that LRT technicians and engineers "need some leeway" to ensure that the system was running smoothly. "During the last time that lightning struck the LRT-2, it took our engineers five hours to fully implement repairs," Jorgio said. Last July 12, hundreds of LRT-2 commuters were stranded after a lightning bolt struck a power cable near the Santolan station at about 7:30 a.m. Students were seen walking nearly a kilometer to Katipunan Avenue, where public transport was more accessible. Jorgio said that LRT personnel had determined that Marikina River, where part of the Line 2 system passes, was very prone to lightning strikes. Nearly all of the LRT's service interruptions have occurred between 7 to 8 a.m. when passenger volume is at its peak.-GMANews.TV Please see related story: Lightning strike stalls LRT operations anew