How can MRT reliability improved 3 times, when there are so many breakdowns?
Posted on 2017-07-27 by Leong Sze Hian
I refer to the article “Khaw Boon Wan sets new rail network reliability target as MRT becomes three times as dependable as in 2015” (Straits Times, Jul 27).
Ownself delude ownself?
The article writes, “The MRT system’s reliability has improved by three times since Mr Khaw Boon Wan moved to the Transport Ministry in 2015, but the minister wants to raise the bar much higher.
Speaking at the fourth joint forum on infrastructure maintenance organised by SMRT on Thursday (July 26), the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport said that in 2015 – the year he replaced Mr Lui Tuck Yew at the ministry, Singapore’s MRT trains travelled an average of 133,000km between delays of more than five minutes.
This is known as mean km between failure (MKBF)."
Ownself exclude ownself?
It was noted by Mr Khaw that the MKBF “has happily gone up to nearly 400,000 (393,000) train-km” in the first half of this year (2017) based on preliminary data, and had also excluded delays arising from the testing of a new signalling system on the North-South line.
The minister noted that all five lines had improved, with the star performer being the North-East line, which clocked nearly 1 million (978,000) train-km between failures.
“This is a satisfactory outcome, against our targets of 300,000 MKBF this year, 400,000 MKBF next year and 800,000 train-km by 2020,” Mr Khaw said, adding that he set these targets last year against the best-in-class Taipei Metro, which clocked 800,000 MKBF.
But by excluding the “delays arising from the testing of a new signalling system, we have conveniently evaded all the frequent and extensive delays that have happened recently. Does the Taipei Metro exclude delays due to certain reasons like what we are now doing in Singapore?
Ownself praise ownself?
Noting that the Taipei Metro has improved further by achieving 1 million MKBF, Mr Khaw declared that he will be upping their 2020 target from 800,000 to 1,000,000 train-km. Noting that LTA (Land Transport Authority) and the operators are working closely towards this target.
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Back-to-back signalling faults disrupt Downtown, North-South Lines
Early morning commuters on Friday (Aug 18) were hit by twin disruptions on the train network, as signalling faults disrupted the entire Downtown Line (DTL) for about 35 minutes and caused major delays on the North-South Line (NSL). TODAY file photo
Published: 6:49 AM, August 18, 2017
Updated: 7:40 AM, August 18, 2017
SINGAPORE — Early morning commuters on Friday (Aug 18) were hit by twin disruptions on the train network, as signalling faults disrupted the entire Downtown Line (DTL) for about 35 minutes and caused major delays on the North-South Line (NSL).
Friday morning’s disruptions came hours after Thursday evening’s peak-hour train delay on the NSL due to a signalling fault near Ang Mo Kio station that took about two hours to clear.
Transport operator SMRT first tweeted about the NSL delay at 6.29am, warning commuters of a 30 minutes delay between Sembawang and Marina South Pier both bounds. Minutes later, the delay worsened to 45 minutes.
At 6.38am, SMRT advised commuters to take other MRT lines or seek alternative transport towards the city.
However, service on the entire DTL went down at about the same time. SBS Transit said in a tweet at 6.25am that there was no DTL service due to a signalling fault.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...th-line-friday
CLAP CLAP CLAP . WELL DONE . SUCH WORLD CLASS TRANSPORT SYSTEM . ALWAYS BREAKDOWN
Signalling fault delays North-South Line for two hours
ZHAKI ABdULLAH, THE STRAITS TIMES
Aug 18, 2017 06:00 am
Commuters travelling on the North-South Line yesterday were stranded after a signalling fault on the 30-year-old line caused delays for two hours during the evening peak period.
At 6.18pm, SMRT first cautioned commuters to expect an additional 20 minutes’ travelling time between Yishun and Marina South Pier stations due to a fault with the new signalling system near Ang Mo Kio station.
Nearly half-an-hour later, it advised commuters to add 25 minutes to their journeys.
This was further increased to 40 minutes at 7pm.
Mr Lim Chia Wei, 21, was on his way from Novena to Bishan when the train stopped at Braddell station for 15 minutes.
The student added that it was “extremely crowded” at the station when he got there.
Though the delays were said to be on the 16-station stretch between Yishun and Marina South Pier, commuters complained on social media of delays affecting the entire line.
Photos posted online showed packed train platforms at the Jurong East interchange station, which is at the other end of the line from Marina South Pier.
Free bus services were provided between Marina South Pier and Ang Mo Kio in both directions during the delays.
On its Facebook page, SMRT said a signalling unit along the tracks near Ang Mo Kio station experienced a fault around 5.35pm yesterday.
Train services were back to normal at 8.15pm.
SMRT apologised for the “difficult evening for (its) affected commuters”.
Full-day tests of the new signalling system on the North-South Line, which will allow trains to run closer together, began in May. Since then, there have been numerous delays on the line.
The Land Transport Authority and SMRT have said full-day tests of the signalling system on weekdays “cannot be avoided”.
continue reading here :
http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/sig...line-two-hours
How many more tests you need to do ?
Back-to-back signalling faults disrupt Downtown, North-South Lines
Early morning commuters on Friday (Aug 18) were hit by twin disruptions on the train network, as signalling faults disrupted the entire Downtown Line (DTL) for about 35 minutes and caused major delays on the North-South Line (NSL). Photo: Esther Leong
Published: 6:49 AM, August 18, 2017
Updated: 2:25 PM, August 18, 2017
SINGAPORE — Signalling faults caused major delays on the North-South Line (NSL) and disrupted the entire Downtown Line (DTL) for a period on Friday (Aug 18) morning, frustrating thousands of commuters heading to work and students trying to reach their school on time for their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) oral exams.
The twin disruptions, which came after Thursday evening’s peak-hour train delay on the NSL due to a signalling fault near Ang Mo Kio station, lasted for about three hours. Regular services resumed at 9am and 9.15am respectively on the DTL and NSL.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) told students who were late for the oral exams not to worry as arrangements had been made for those who arrived late, and that they did not need to pick up excuse letters at the affected train stations.
This came as staff at some MRT stations were seen giving out “travel chits” to students to indicate the timings which they had entered and exited stations affected by the train delays on Friday morning.
Transport operator SMRT first tweeted about the NSL delay at 6.29am, warning commuters of a 30 minutes delay between Sembawang and Marina South Pier both bounds. Minutes later, the delay worsened to 45 minutes.
At 6.38am, SMRT advised commuters to take other MRT lines or seek alternative transport towards the city.
However, service on the entire DTL went down at about the same time. SBS Transit said in a tweet at 6.25am that there was no DTL service due to a signalling fault.
SBS Transit explained in a statement that its first train was delayed by a signalling fault and could not be launched automatically from the depot to the Downtown Line.
Trains had to be manually driven, and the first train only started service at 5.37am at DT1 Bukit Panjang Station, seven minutes later than scheduled.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...th-line-friday
New line also affected .
So how Mr Khaw ???
Don’t worry, MOE tells PSLE students affected by MRT delays
A travel chit issued by SMRT following Friday (Aug 18) morning’s delays on the North-South and Downtown Lines. The PSLE oral examinations were slated to start at 8am, but train services on both lines only resumed normal service after 9am. Photo: Koh Mui Fong/TODAY
Published: 12:13 PM, August 18, 2017
Updated: 1:45 PM, August 18, 2017
SINGAPORE — Assuring students who missed their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) oral exams on Friday (Aug 18) morning due to major train delays, the Ministry of Education (MOE) told them not to worry and that arrangements had been made for those who arrived late.
“If you’ve been delayed on the way to school this morning, please don’t worry,” the ministry said in a Facebook post. “Just let your school know. If necessary, you will be able to take the exam at a later time.
The ministry added that students did not need to pick up any excuse letters at the MRT stations to prove they were late. This came as staff at some MRT stations were seen giving out “travel chits” to students which indicated the timings which they entered and exited stations affected by the train delays on Friday morning.
Twin disruptions on the train network snarled the Friday morning commute, with the Downtown and North-South Line experiencing major delays due to signalling faults.
The disruptions on both MRT lines lasted about three hours before the faults were cleared after 9am. At one point, beginning at about 6.25am, services on the entire Downtown Line was disrupted.
Thousands of commuters heading to work and students due for their PSLE oral exam at 8am were affected.
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Potential delay on North-South Line; commuters advised to plan ahead: SMRT
Published: 5:35 PM, August 18, 2017
Updated: 6:34 PM, August 18, 2017
SINGAPORE – Hours after signalling faults threw the morning rush hour commute into chaos, rail operator SMRT has warned commuters of a second straight day of potential delays on the North-South Line (NSL).
In a Facebook post at 4.53pm on Friday (Aug 18), SMRT urged commuters planning to travel on the NSL to “plan ahead”.
“If you intend to travel on the North-South Line later, please plan ahead. You may experience longer train travel time,” the post read.
In a subsequent tweet, SMRT said that its engineers are “working hard to continue their checks and investigations”.
Earlier on Friday morning, signalling faults caused a three-hour delay on the NSL and disrupted the entire Downtown Line (DTL).
It affected thousands of commuters heading to work and students trying to reach their school on time for their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) oral exams.
The Ministry of Education told students who were late for the oral exams not to worry as arrangements had been made for those who arrived late, and that they did not need to pick up excuse letters at the affected train stations.
According to SMRT, signalling experts and engineers are still checking the system to identify the root cause of the Friday morning delays.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...lan-ahead-smrt
Might as well everyone BOYCOTT SMRT Train and take alternative transport
North-South Line hit by track fault; second disruption in a day
Published: 5:43 PM, August 23, 2017
Updated: 7:00 PM, August 23, 2017
SINGAPORE – Trains plying the route between Yew Tee and Jurong East were hit with a fresh set of problems during Wednesday (Aug 23) evening’s rush hour, following similar delays in the morning.
SMRT announced on its Twitter account at 5.09pm that a track fault was detected along the North-South Line near Jurong East station, rendering only one of the station’s three platforms operational.
In a subsequent tweet 11 minutes later, it advised commuters to “expect slightly longer train travel time between YewTee and Jurong East on the NSL this evening”.
The latest disruption came just 10 hours after the first delay in the morning.
At 7.32am SMRT had announced that, due to a track fault, travel time between Yew Tee to Jurong East station would be delayed by 10 minutes.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...disruption-day
Well done . Such world class transport system .
Track fault results in hours-long train delays on East-West Line
30 Aug 2017 12:39PM (Updated: 30 Aug 2017 02:27PM)
SINGAPORE: Train services on the East-West Line were delayed for up to 15 minutes for more than four hours on Wednesday morning (Aug 30).
SMRT first alerted that there would be a delay from the Jurong East MRT station to Redhill MRT station at about 8.15am on Twitter. The delay was due to a track fault and was not linked to the new signalling project, it added.
At about 12.30pm, SMRT said train services have resumed.
Commuters complained on social media about crowds at the MRT stations and said other MRT stations were also affected by delays.
MRT train services have been plagued by delays and disruptions in recent months. The Jurong East MRT station was affected when a “fault track point” caused delays on the North-South Line from Yew Tee to Jurong East during Wednesday’s morning rush hour.
The North-South Line was also hit by delays for more than three hours on Aug 18 due to a signalling system fault.
SMRT warned in July that the updating and testing of a new signalling system would take between four and six months to stabilise.
Read more at
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...t-line-9169652
SUCH WORLD CLASS TRANSPORT SYSTEM
Public Transport Council kicks off 2017 fare review exercise
It will announce its decision on the fare adjustment quantum in the last quarter of 2017, the council says.
30 Aug 2017 02:22PM (Updated: 30 Aug 2017 02:30PM)
SINGAPORE: Train operators may submit their fare applications to the Public Transport Council by Sep 29 for this year’s fare review exercise, PTC announced on Wednesday (Aug 30).
For this year’s fare exercise, PTC said it will be guided by the existing fare adjustment formula, which takes into account the consumer price index, energy costs and wages, and is valid until the end of 2017.
Based on the fare adjustment formula, the maximum allowable fare adjustment quantum is -3.9 per cent. With the carry-over quantum of -1.5 per cent from the 2016 fare review exercise, the fare adjustment quantum to be considered for this year’s exercise is -5.4 per cent, PTC said.
The council said it will strike a balance between “keeping our public transport fares affordable and ensuring the long-term viability of the public transport system”.
Read more at
Public transport fares could be cut by 5.4% next year
Published: 3:08 PM, August 30, 2017
SINGAPORE – Public transport fares could be slashed by as much as 5.4 per cent next year, the Public Transport Council (PTC) signalled on Wednesday (Aug 30) as it commenced the annual fare review exercise.
For this exercise, the maximum fare adjustment quantum to be considered is -5.4 per cent, based on a -3.9 per cent fare adjustment quantum for this year’s exercise and a carry-over quantum of -1.5 percent from last year’s exercise.
With the public bus industry transiting to the bus contracting model, bus operators will not be required to apply to the PTC for approval of fares. Train operators are to submit fare adjustment applications by Sept 29.
With the PTC undertaking a review of the public transport fare adjustment formula and mechanism, this will be the last year the existing fare adjustment formula, pegged to changes in the Core Consumer Price Index, the Wage Index and the Energy Index over the preceding year, will be used.
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