Quote:
Originally Posted by
sadfa
In the real world, they’ll also ask if situation is worse this year, how? Do you think more cuts is enough? At what stage will he be sacked?
They’ll also asked desmond, how?
You got Buaysong? Will you be quitting?
This is classic spore fcuked up reporting.
Just forward statement from mrt. No comments.
So if smrt later sack desmond cos he fcuked up or say variable cut cos of bad market, media will just report, I mean forward again.
If I not wrong in Japan when something goes seriously go wrong the management take responsibility and resign .
Ex-SMRT staff ‘stole $20,000 and fled country’
MY PAPER
Tuesday, Jun 7, 2016
A FORMER SMRT station manager has allegedly pilfered $20,000 in cash from Tanah Merah station, and is being investigated by the police.
The man is said to be on the run and has left the country.
A police spokesman confirmed that the rail operator had lodged a report on June 1. He added that investigations were underway.
The Straits Times understands the missing money - largely from commuters wanting to top up their travel cards at the station office - had been siphoned over a period of several months.
The case came to light apparently through an internal audit.
Sources said he had worked with SMRT for only two years.
When contacted, SMRT spokesman Patrick Nathan said the company referred the case to the police and said he could not comment further, citing ongoing police investigations.
Each day, more than three million trips are made by close to one million people on Singapore’s rail network.
- See more at:
China manufacturer for MTR secretly recalls 35 SMRT subway trains after cracks found
REPORTED BY:
Staff Reporters, FactWire
DATE:
2016-07-05
PLACE:
SINGAPORE
Chinese-made subway trains in Singapore have cracks in their car bodies and key structural components, resulting in 35 trains being shipped back to their manufacturer in Qingdao for replacement, FactWire can reveal.
Details of the defects and the recalls have been kept secret in both Singapore and China. The same mainland manufacturer is responsible for manufacturing nine trains for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XLR) and 93 trains for the Mass Transit Railway Corporation’s (MTR Corporation) four urban lines.
A source from the mainland railway industry told FactWire that Singapore’s subway operator SMRT Trains Ltd (SMRT) was secretly shipping defective trains back to mainland China for replacement and repair by manufacturer CSR Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Company Ltd (CSR Sifang).
According to sources, the defective trains are being stored at SMRT’s Bishan Depot. After 1am on June 12, FactWire reporters witnessed two train cars wrapped in green covering being moved out of the depot.
Each of the two covered train cars were more than 20m long. They were placed on large dollies used for transporting train cars and were towed away by cargo trucks, led by police cars and construction vehicles. At approximately 3am, the two train cars arrived at Jurong Port, located in Singapore’s western industrial area. Using a drone camera, reporters discovered that six train cars had already been placed in one corner of the port. Cranes, derricks, and other large machines believed to be used for lifting trains were situated nearby.
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HK Government Tipped Off About Singapore Subway Trains Crackings A Year Ago, Emails Reveal
MTR Corporation awarded the HK$6 billion contract for 93 new urban line trains to CSR Sifang, the price averaging HK$64 million per train. (FactWire Photo)
REPORTED BY:
Staff Reporters, FactWire
DATE:
2016-07-05
PLACE:
HONG KONG
Hong Kong’s Transport and Housing Bureau received multiple emails from January to August 2015 complaining of the “underframe cracking problem” in Singapore’s C151A trains, as well as “potential irregularities [in] procurement of XRL and new urban line trains”, FactWire has discovered
Speaking to the media yesterday, Secretary for Transport and Housing Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said the Bureau was not aware of quality issues with Singapore subway operator SMRT Trains Ltd’s (SMRT) 35 C151A trains before FactWire’s report on July 5 revealed that the trains were being secretly recalled and repaired by their mainland Chinese manufacturer CSR Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Company Ltd (CSR Sifang).
However, contrary to Cheung’s statement, emails provided to FactWire by government sources show the Bureau has been aware of quality issues with Singapore’s C151A trains since early last year. On January 30, 2015, the Bureau received an email addressed to Cheung reporting “irregularities” in the MTR’s tender process for new urban line trains, which was ongoing at that time. In attached documents, the sender made reference to the “Singapore C151A train underframe sub-floor cracking problem”.
Transport and Housing Bureau recieved an email on January 30, 2015, pointing out “irregularities” in the MTR Corporation’s tender for the contract of urban line trains.
“Thousands of brackets had been added to the relevant areas, as a temporary measure to ensure the safety integrity of the underframe sub-floor member to prevent the equipment from falling down onto the track,” the sender explains. “Ultimate solution will require the fleet to be recalled back to Qingdao for replacement of the sub-floor.”
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Going public on train cracks could have caused undue panic: Khaw
By Kenneth Lim
Posted 12 Jul 2016 16:49
SINGAPORE: Declaring that trains were being returned to China for repairs due to hairline cracks could have caused undue panic, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said at the Bishan Depot on Tuesday (Jul 12).
Mr Khaw said that going public for something that was “not a major event” might have caused unnecessary panic to the layman, noting that to engineers, not all cracks are the same.
“If all cracks are have to be reported when they do not cause any of those safety issues then they have to think about what is the impact on the ground,” said Mr Khaw. “Looking back I think it’s understandable. We learn as we go along, sometimes even routine matters can be spun out of control as it happened in this case”.
He added that if there was a safety issue, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) would have gone public.
“I think if it was a safety issue, LTA - I’m quite sure will - in consultation with MOT (Ministry of Transport) - will decide to go public immediately,” said Mr Khaw. He added that if returning the trains would have affected capacity, MOT and LTA would have gone public to explain why.
LTA Deputy Chief Executive (Infrastructure and Development) Chua Chong Kheng added that any time LTA considers a train a safety threat, it would “never allow the train to go into service”.
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...n/2950576.html
The great wayang show begins .
COMMENT: SMRT train saga exposes cracks in outdated media policy
P N Balji10 July 2016
The revelation that cracks were found in China-made SMRT trains has shown that the government cannot control the flow of information and command the conversation the way they have done for so long.
For long has this policy been enforced with a combination of legislation, controls on competition that give the two media houses a free ride to make money and the induction of journalists who generally are convinced to become official megaphones. So numbed has the government been by this policy that it has been blindsided by a reality that is breaking down barriers that very few had imagined even just 10 years ago.
At the heart of this new reality is a media policy that has castrated mainstream media to the point where journalists write and edit for fear of losing their jobs and dump investigative journalism practices to the great benefit of the government.
The results of this outdated and archaic policy blew up in the faces of both the journalists and politicians when a new media platform called FactWire in Hongkong broke the news that 26 MRT trains found to have cracks were being shipped back to the manufacturer in China for repairs.
The news agency, which says its unique selling point is investigative journalism, had videos of the trains being wrapped up in green covers and being moved via road and then sea in the middle of the night.
It caused a sensation here with the government and media caught totally off guard and scrambling to respond to a story that was stolen right under their noses.
For three days since the story broke last week, the government tried to play catch-up by spinning story after story in official media trying to allay fears about safety of the trains.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
antoman
Hahaha someone trying to sweep the dirt under the carpet but kena caught
What makes matter worse is that they took the taxpayers’ money to buy the trains and buses . I wonder how much more dirt can be discovered ?
SMRT operating assets to come under new rail financing framework from Oct 1
Posted 15 Jul 2016 14:34
SINGAPORE: More timely capacity expansion and higher maintenance standards for SMRT lines are in the pipeline with the transfer of SMRT’s operating assets to the new rail financing framework, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Friday (Jul 15).
The transfer, which will happen on Oct 1 pending SMRT shareholders’ approval, will see LTA pay the transport operator nearly S$1 billion for more than 60,000 assets, including trains and signalling systems. In turn, SMRT will pay a licence charge to operate the lines and earn revenue from them.
The rail financing framework, announced by the Government in 2008 and implemented for the SBS Transit-operated Downtown Line in 2011, will now be implemented for the SMRT-operated North-South, East-West and Circle lines and Bukit Panjang LRT.
SMRT and LTA have been in discussions for the transfer since 2011.
With the change, rail services will be more responsive to an increase in ridership, LTA said. The authority will be able to ensure that capacity expansion, as well as the replacement and upgrading of operating assets, are done in a timely fashion.
“Rail operators, relieved of heavy capital expenditure, can focus on providing reliable and well-maintained rail services for commuters,” LTA added.
Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan said the move to the new rail financing framework would benefit commuters. “It will allow LTA to add trains to respond more quickly to demand, and to replace and upgrade existing rail assets in a more timely manner. This should achieve the twin objectives of raising rail reliability and reducing crowdedness.”
continue reading here :
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...o/2959500.html
LTA might as well sack the entire management team of SMRT . LTA should take over the entire operations of the MRT network since it is obvious that the 2 private companies are not competent enough to operate the rail network . SMRT should only be allowed to operate the bus services .
Transport minister Khaw Boon Wan lists benefits of LTA’s $1b take over of SMRT’s rail assets
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan opening the media briefing on July 12.
Published6 hours ago
Commuters will benefit from increased rail reliability and reduced crowding, he says
Christopher Tan
Senior Transport Correspondent
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan believes the new rail financing framework will benefit commuters.
“It will allow the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to add trains to respond more quickly to demand, and to replace and upgrade existing rail assets in a more timely manner,” he said.
“This should achieve the twin objectives of raising rail reliability and reducing crowdedness.”
Mr Khaw noted that the new framework was first implemented for SBS Transit’s Downtown Line.
“We now look forward to its extension to all the SMRT train lines,” he said, adding: “The new rail financing framework will benefit commuters.”
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, concurs. He said the operator will be able to focus on service to commuters and maintenance of the rail system.
Mr Kuek at the press conference last evening after LTA announced that it will take over all of SMRT’s operating assets to free the rail operator to focus on improving its service levels. On his left is group chief financial officer Manfred Seah.
SMRT will still shoulder significant risks, says its CEO
“There will be no more large capital expenditures for the operator,” he said.
Mr Sitoh added that the new format also paves the way for “greater contestability”.
“The reduction of the licence period to 15 years will hopefully translate to more competition, improved service levels and cost-efficiency,” he said.
In a Facebook post, National Transport Workers’ Union executive secretary Melvin Yong said the union will study the new arrangement “in greater detail to assess its implications on our rail workers”.
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SMRT will still shoulder significant risks, says its CEO
Mr Kuek at the press conference last evening after LTA announced that it will take over all of SMRT’s operating assets to free the rail operator to focus on improving its service levels. On his left is group chief financial officer Manfred Seah.
Published 6 hours ago
Karamjit Kaur Senior Correspondent and Marissa Lee
While the new rail financing framework means that SMRT gets some protection in terms of fare revenue and profitability, the company will still be shouldering “significant risks”, said the operator’s president and group chief executive officer, Mr Desmond Kuek.
“We are still not in control of fares and we don’t have all the visibility over ridership going forward or the impact that new lines will have on our existing lines in terms of ridership and the total revenue that might be collectible under our existing lines…
“There continues to be significant risks for us which we have very little control over,” he said.
For investors, the news will likely come as a relief from the growing uncertainty of SMRT’s finances. SMRT itself admitted yesterday that the current model is an “unsustainable” one.
Noted DBS Equity Research senior vice-president Andy Sim yesterday: “(With SMRT) released from capital expenditure, which is a positive… this will lead to more stable financials going forward.”
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