[Onthebarricades] ARGENTINA: More unrest over public transport delays

[Andy]

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/argentina/note.jsp?idContent=388822&hideIntro=true

            Commuters riot over train, subway delays

           
           
     

     
     

     
     
      Retiro station was the scene of violent protesting by at least a thousand people last night, after delays in the Mitre-line were announced. 
      Earlier in the day Constitución station was the scene of an arson attempt and subway passengers breaking windows as they waited for the C-line train which was delayed because of an accident. At Lavalle station a person was injured after being run over by a train wagon in what police say was  an attempted suicide.
      The subsequent delay sparked "anger among the passengers," according to a Metrovías spokesman. Police and subway officials were able to quell the violent outbreak, the second this month after a similar incident at Constitución took place on May 15.
      At Retiro station the disturbances started after 7.00pm when several hundred people waiting for the three Mitre line trains left the platforms and chased subway employees into the information offices. Some rioters managed to get inside the office and broke windows. Almost an hour later as the situation got increasingly tense, the operator TBA announced that the trains were departing. 
      According to the TBA, the cause of the delays was an electrical malfunction in the signal switchboard.  At 8.30pm TBA announced buses to take passengers to Belgrano station from where trains departed, after which the scenes at Retiro quietened down.
      Ombudsman Eduardo Mondino condemned the rioting, saying "Vandalism and violence are not the way to draw attention to complaints, however justified by a poor service." Reacting to speculation that more public transport companies may be intervened by the government, Mondino said that "Taking decisions after acts of vandalism and calling it 'listening to the people' is demagoguery that perpetuates violence."  
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