Train breakdowns: Is dishonesty really the best policy?
Published on 2017-09-16 by Carlton Tan
Another train breakdown, another delay, another inaccurate estimate given. Please. Why can’t we just be honest about it?
Every time the train service breaks down, SMRT will euphemistically call it a “track fault” or a “train fault” (never SMRT’s fault?). It will then attempt to give commuters the information they need to “plan ahead”. Unfortunately, SMRT’s estimates about the duration of train delays are about as accurate as their train service is reliable during rainy weather at peak hours—which is to say, not very accurate at all.
Every tweet SMRT sends out about a train delay will usually be followed by a reply from a commuter pointing out that the delay has exceeded their estimate. Just take the August 29 delay along the East-West Line for example.
At 1.13pm, SMRT tweeted:
“[EWL]
ue to a track fault,pls add 10mins train travel time from #JurongEast to #Redhill.(Not linked to new signalling project).”
Soon after, a commuter replied:
“Been stuck between Pioneer and Joo Koon for 20 mins”.
At 1.42pm, SMRT tweeted again:
“[EWL] UPDATE: Pls add 15mins train travel time from #JurongEast to #Redhill due to a track fault at #Redhill. Train svc is available.”
And right on cue, a commuter pointed out:
“What about the delay at Joo Koon…. 25 min delay there.”
Or how about the August 30 delay? SMRT says the delay will only take 15mins but commuters ask:
“you different world isit why your 15 mins and my 15 mins"
“Sure 15 mins. More like 45 mins"
“What give 15 mins lead time, i have already given 1 hour if my precious time.”
And as for the September 10 delay, SMRT says “Pls add 15min” but commuters point
“15 mins per station”
“@smrt please be transparent and announce the breakdown before people reach the interchange”
“Delay 25 min already still not moving, garbage excuse la”
“No announcement of what’s happening in the train. Horrible, SMRT really needs to at least communicate!!!”
“Sorry, where are those buses? No one tells anything on the station (Botanic Garden). Waiting here for more than 30 mins. So unprofessional.”
When the North-South Line broke down (again) yesterday, SMRT asked commuters to “add 20mins travel time” when in fact there was no train service at all.
“It’s not adding 20 minutes. It’s totally no service at all. Can’t you guys be more clear about it.”
“20mins? There are no trains at Somerset and long taxi queues. Once again SMRT you have let us down.”
“No train service at Toa Payoh to Marina South Pier in both directions”
This has gone on for a long time now so surely whoever is responsible for providing these estimates must have realised how consistently wrong he has been. SMRT has, of course, not fired him, presumably because it is not against company policy to fib the delay estimates. Commuters, after all, cannot boycott SMRT. But if this is not evidence of a blatant disregard for the welfare of commuters, I do not know what is.
Accurate estimates are ultimately the most vital information commuters need to mitigate whatever inconvenience and economic loss they may have suffered as a result of the delay. Unfortunately, SMRT persists in misleading commuters. Why? This is surely unjustifiable from a public relations perspective. Misleading customers is a sure way to attract their ire, as the sarcastic tweets and snide retorts well show. It is also unjustifiable from a national economic perspective. Every minute a working adult spends idling on a train instead of at work does not merely mean lost income for him, it also means lost economic activity for the nation. Surely the words, “Moving People, Enhancing Lives,” mean more to SMRT than corporate profit. Surely SMRT realises that it serves a vital function, not just for its shareholders, but also for the nation.
continue reading here :
Tourists here for F1 stuck in MRT delay
Xavier Lur happened to be there to record the scene.
By Sulaiman Daud | 14 hours
At about 9.00pm on Sep. 15, SMRT announced a delay on the North-South line. 20 additional minutes had to be factored in if you were traveling between Marina South Pier and Toa Payoh.
Unfortunately, this is nothing new for Singaporeans. A train can break down at any hour of the day of night. But if you happen to be a tourist taking our public transport around town, a long train delay would be an uncomfortably warm welcome to Singapore.
Local photographer Xavier Lur was on an MRT train at the Marina Bay station when the fault was announced. According to him, the train did not move for at least 15 minutes, after which he decided to step out. But not before taking some photos and uploading them to Twitter, which you can see below:
It was clear that some of them were in town to watch the F1 race, from the passes they were holding. The races start today, Sep. 15, and the festivities will last till Sep. 17.
continue reading here :
https://mothership.sg/2017/09/touris...-in-mrt-delay/
Well done Mr Khaw such a world class mrt transport system . So when are you going to fix all these delays ?
Long queues and crowds at MRT stations along East-West Line due to ’train fault'
19 Sep 2017 09:13AM (Updated: 19 Sep 2017 01:10PM)
SINGAPORE: Huge crowds and long queues formed at some MRT stations along the East-West Line (EWL) on Tuesday (Sep 19) during the morning rush hour.
Announcements at the stations, according to commuters, said there was a train fault that caused delays from Tanah Merah to Pasir Ris.
Commuters started posting on Twitter about a fault along the line around 7.40am.
A commuter who waited for the train for 30 minutes at Simei station told Channel NewsAsia he heard an announcement at about 8.30am that there would be no westbound trains.
There were many trains going towards Pasir Ris, but none coming from the other direction, he said.
Netizens took to social media to report crowds and long queues at Bedok, Tampines, Pasir Ris and Simei stations.
As of 9.05am, SMRT had not posted any updates on its Twitter account. When Channel NewsAsia reached out on Tuesday, SMRT declined to comment on the incident.
SMRT’s train services have been plagued by delays and disruptions in recent months. Last month, for instance, train services on the EWL were delayed over more than four hours due to a track fault.
The train operator 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/...ne-due-9229354
So how Mr Khaw how are you going to solve this problem ? Do you think it is okay for people to be late for their work and appointments ?
Such world class mrt transport system .
SMRT decides to stop announcing train delays: A blow-by-blow account of the EWL disruption
Published on 2017-09-19 by Carlton Tan
At 8.00 am, the first tweet came in. “Pasir Ris station. Train packed like sardines but not leaving station for at least 3 minutes. Platform is getting crowded!”
At around this time, rush-hour commuters along the EWL lines were beginning to notice the delay. A huge crowd had begun to form on the platform at Tampines. If not for the large fans spinning overhead, the air might have been suffocating. People were staring at their phones again. You can still hear the mynas squawking and the sky is still a nice pale blue. There is a serene quality to your misery; and at least you’re not alone. Everyone waits, patiently. In a strange solidarity, no one grumbles aloud. The trains are late again and it’s going to be another jam-packed trip to the office. But at least the air-con works. Or so we hope against hope. Something must work around here. This is Singapore.
But there will always be that one person. That troublemaker. The one who cannot abide the wait. The one who must ponder aloud. And so, with a picture that speaks a thousand words, @hikariazie took to twitter at 8.04 am. “As much as Tampines is getting more crowded, What is with the 7mins train intervals during peak hr #smrt? -.-” she asked.
And so it began, the lie was exposed. This would not be another ordinary Tuesday of shuffling around in the train every stop. No, first you wait, then you do the shuffle, then your boss asks you why you’re late (again).
The only problem? No poor soul checks the #smrt tag every time he or she plans to leave the house. No, poor souls prefer to wait for something official from @SMRT_Singapore or from the mainstream media. And so, deprived of any warning, the poor souls join the mass of human suffering congregating outside what used to be a train station.
It’s 8.06 am. The platform is still packed. People cannot board the train without mastering the dark arts. But at least there’s no train fault because the trains are still moving. At least that’s what SMRT tells itself. No train fault! The operations manager declares. Social Media Timmy scribbles it down on his notepad: No train fault! No tweet required! Back to my cat videos!
It’s 8.09 am. Jimmy asks, “EWL down @SMRT_Singapore ?” Nope, not down. Ops Manager Bobby reassures Social Media Timmy. The trains are still running. People just aren’t willing to move in. Nothing we can do about that. And indeed, the trains are still running. Service reliability is at a 100%. Please stop harassing the staff, Jimmy.
It’s 8.24 am. People begin to speculate. One thinks it’s a train fault. I haven’t the heart to tell him that, unless some red lights go off, there is no such thing as a train fault for SMRT, only additional waiting time.
A minute later another person tweets, “are the trains still dead on the EW line? #smrt #SMRTRUINSLIVES”. Please check that privilege young woman. Be grateful you have clean streets, low crime rates, an efficient government, cheap public housing, and excellent public transport. Oh wait.
continue reading here :
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...wl-disruption/
Got any brothers got caught by the mrt breakdown on your way to your bonking sessions ?
Commuters less satisfied with MRT services compared to buses and taxis
Published: 7:55 PM, September 27, 2017
Updated: 8:52 PM, September 27, 2017
SINGAPORE – Commuters’ satisfaction with the Republic’s MRT services fell sharply around the time that weekday signalling tests began in late May, according to a study by the Singapore Management University (SMU).
Earlier this month, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, citing statistics, said there was a disconnect between the improved performance of rail lines and commuters’ perception.
In comparison, commuters were happier with bus and taxi services, and even with the beleaguered Bukit Panjang LRT network, according to the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore report released on Wednesday (Sept 27) by the SMU’s Institute of Service Excellence (ISE).
The MRT system scored 64.8 points on a scale of zero to 100 during the study conducted in the second quarter of this year, dropping 1.6 points compared to the same period last year.
This marks the first drop in customer satisfaction in the MRT system that the study has seen since 2014, when the authorities began efforts to improve the quality of public transport services here.
Rail operator SMRT saw a year-on-year drop of 1.7 points in customer satisfaction to 64.6 points this year, while SBS Transit scored 65.1 points, dropping 1.4 points.
SMRT runs the East-West, North-South and Circle Lines, while SBS Transit runs the North-East and Downtown Lines.
Customer satisfaction and perceived quality scores were also significantly lower in July this year, compared to between April and June.
This coincided with the start of weekday signalling tests on the North-South Line (NSL) in late May, as well as various train disruptions that happened in the next few months.
Factors such as train reliability, the frequency of trains and the handling of train disruptions had significant positive impact on commuters’ perceived quality of train operations, the index found.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...uses-and-taxis
I wonder who they interview ? Why they never interview me ?
MOE assures students as train delays hit early morning commute to the east on first day of PSLE
Published: 7:15 AM, September 28, 2017
Updated: 8:03 AM, September 28, 2017
SINGAPORE – Early morning train commuters travelling along the East West Line experienced delays of between 20 and 30 minutes on Thursday (Sep 28), the first day of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).
In a Facebook post, the Ministry of Education (MOE) urged affected students to inform their school as soon as possible, and to continue to head to their examination centre.
“Full paper duration would be given. No excuse letter from the train station is required,” MOE added.
SMRT first announced the delay at 5.53am, advising commuters to expect a delay of 30 minutes in their travel time between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris MRT stations. It added that it was not linked to their new signaling project.
In an update at 6.15am, the transport operator said that the delay was now between Tampines and Pasir Ris stations, and that commuters could expect a delay of 20 minutes. This was later revised to 30 minutes at 6.39am.
Thursday marks the first day of the PSLE for Primary Six students. Their English and Mother Tongue papers are slated to start at 8am.
Several people took to Twitter to express their ire over the situation. Twitter user Kok Siang said that it was “not acceptable” considering that it was “PSLE and school exams day”.
Thursday’s delay will not be the first time students have been affected during their national examination.
On Aug 18, students sitting for their oral exams were similarly affected by a major train delay.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) had assured students then that they need not worry if they had missed their exams, and that arrangements would be made for those who arrived late.
Twin disruptions on the train network snarled the Aug 18 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.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...first-day-psle
SMRT sure does provide such GOOD TRAIN SERVICE . So how Mr Khaw and Mr Desmond Kuek when are you guys going to resign and take responsibility ?
No exam candidates affected by train delays: SEAB
28 Sep 2017 04:17PM (Updated: 28 Sep 2017 04:20PM)
SINGAPORE: There were no reports of examination candidates being affected by train delays on Thursday (Sep 28), the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) has said.
MRT stations between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris on the East-West Line faced delays of up to 30 minutes in the morning.
The delays came on the first day of the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) for Primary 6 students, who were due to take their English Language and Foundation English papers at 8.15am.
SMRT said that a track point fault on the line caused delays, which began before 6am. Train services resumed at about 8.30am.
SEAB said earlier that candidates would given the full duration to take the exam paper if they were affected by the disruption and would not need to produce any excuse sheet as proof.
The Board said it also worked with schools to advise candidates to plan for sufficient travel time, and remind them about the actions they should take if affected by train service disruptions before the exam.
“SEAB would like to assure examination candidates that they will not be penalised for being late if they have difficulties getting to their examination centres on time due to such disruptions,” it said.
Read more at
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...s-seab-9259118
Putting your commuters under undue stress is it fair to them ? SMRT ; LTA & Mr Khaw ?
Train delays add to PSLE pupils’ stress
Melanis TaiMavis Wong
Sep 29, 2017 06:00 am
His heart sank when he saw the crowd at Pasir Ris MRT station. It was a big day for him - the first day of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) - and the trains had been delayed.
The boy, who is 12 and goes to a school in Tampines, was flustered. He managed to catch a bus but was 10 minutes late for school assembly.
“I was anxious and worried throughout. I called my mum, who told me to call my teacher, who said to just come to school,” said the pupil, who declined to be named.
Train services between Pasir Ris and Tampines stations on the East-West Line were disrupted for nearly 2½ hours yesterday morning, the second time train delays have affected pupils taking the PSLE this year.
A three-hour delay affected the North-South and Downtown Lines during the PSLE oral exam on Aug 18.
Yesterday, SMRT tweeted about a 30-minute delay between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris stations at about 5.55am, and it said the delay was not caused by the signalling project.
Free bus services were made available.
At 6.15am, SMRT tweeted that services had resumed but commuters needed to add 20 minutes’ travel time between Tampines and Pasir Ris stations, attributing the delay to a track point fault.
Normal service between the stations resumed at 8.37am.
Yesterday’s PSLE written paper, English language, began at 8.15am, and the O-level music practical exam at 8am.
A Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) spokesman said candidates would not be penalised should they be late for school and that no candidate was affected.
He said: “Candidates would always be given the full duration of the paper, no matter what time they start. They are also not required to produce any excuse sheet as proof that they were affected by the disruption.”
SEAB has been working with schools to advise candidates to plan for sufficient travel time and remind them about the actions they should take if affected by train service disruptions, he added.
However, clinical psychologist Carol Balhetchet told The New Paper it was inevitable that pupils affected by the delays would have increased stress levels.
With the exam already a stress factor, she said, the last thing the pupils need is an unexpected distraction such as the train delays.
“Any extra help, such as time allowance, would be great,” said Dr Balhetchet, a former senior director of youth services of Singapore Children’s Society, where she worked for 18 years.
“Give them time, let blood flow back to the brain and continue what they have prepared for months.
continue reading here :
http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/tra...-pupils-stress
So you still want to vote for the PAP Government ??? Still cannot solve all these service disruptions .
SMRT director fined S$55,000 for role in fatal 2016 train accident
Faris Mokhtar
Published: 6:10 PM, September 29, 2017
Updated: 6:35 PM, September 29, 2017
SINGAPORE – An SMRT control operations director, convicted for failing to take the necessary measures to ensure employees’ safety that led to the death of two trainees in a fatal track accident last year, was fined S$55,000 on Friday (Sept 29).
In sentencing him, District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt agreed with the prosecution that 41-year-old Teo Wee Kiat bore a significant degree of culpability since he knew that the employees accessing the train track had flouted safety rules and that the harm caused by the accident was “high”.
On March 22 last year, SMRT trainees Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24, and Nasrulhudin Najumudin, 26, were killed by an oncoming train travelling between Tampines and Pasir Ris MRT stations in the morning.
They were part of 15-man team that went onto the tracks to check on a warning signal from a monitoring device.
Arguing for Teo to be handed a S$60,000 fine on Friday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Anandan Bala said Teo, who was in charge of the operations control centre which oversees track access activities, knew that the employees were permitted to conduct track access despite them not abiding by the safety procedures.
DPP Bala noted that apart from his significant degree of culpability, the potential for harm is high considering that accessing train track during traffic hours when passenger trains were operational is “highly dangerous”. He said as head of department, Teo “failed to stop such practices from continuing when it came to his knowledge”.
“It becomes patently clear that the accused has fallen far short of the standard expected of him, when we consider that on top of being a long-standing employee of SMRT and its related entities, he has also in fact held important appointments relevant to the workplace safety breach in question,” he added.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...train-accident
Only $55,000 fined ? How come the CEO of SMRT was not charge at all ?
Parliament: Overhaul of Bukit Panjang LRT to address design issues, tender to be called later this year
LTA and SMRT are looking to shorten the operating hours of the BPLRT so engineers have more time during off-service hours to perform interim upgrades and maintenance work.
Published 2 hours ago
Adrian Lim
Transport Correspondent
SINGAPORE - A planned overhaul of the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) will tackle its problematic design, which has been the primary source of its reliability problems.
The Government will call a tender for the project later this year.
Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng said on Monday (Oct 2) that the design of the 18-year-old BPLRT was adapted from an airport system to fit into an existing housing estate.
“This straight-line design of the LRT was adapted into undulating terrain and sharp turns, causing the (trains’) power collector shoes to dislodge from the power rail,” he said in Parliament.
“We have taken a look at the design considerations, and this will be addressed in the upcoming tender to improve the reliability of the whole system.”
In the meantime, said Mr Ng, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and operator SMRT are looking to shorten the operating hours of the BPLRT so engineers have more time during off-service hours to perform interim upgrades and maintenance work.
These works, to be completed by the year end, include the installation of a new power source at the Ten Mile Junction substation to provide a back-up to the existing power system at Choa Chu Kang.
Engineers from LTA and SMRT are also carrying out detailed checks on the LRT’s power rails, identifying “hot spots” and replacing components.
The issue of the BPLRT’s design came under the spotlight after Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in September that the system was built as an “after-thought” and due to “political pressure”.
Mr Khaw also said the 7.8km line was designed in a “masochistic manner”, and likened the ride to a “roller coaster”.
Replying to questions from MPs Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC) and Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) on Monday, Mr Ng explained that in the 1990s, the LTA was exploring a pilot Light Rail Transit (LRT) network to bridge the last-mile gap to the MRT system, and to ease vehicular congestion in housing estates.
continue reading here :
http://www.straitstimes.com/politics...e-called-later
How about the countless mrt breakdowns ?