- Switch stuck in sludge
- Pump left on automatic
Transport Khaw Boon Wan tells sob story: Singaporeans scream and castigate at SMRT
December 5, 2017
In a despicable move to garner public sympathy, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan told a sob story to state media reporters in his speech today (Dec 5) claiming that Singaporeans scream and castigate at SMRT staff:
“Beware too SMRT may experience other incidents along the way as we try to catch up in short order what could and should have been done years ago. The hardest role is always the men and the officers work, fighting in the trenches. The burden on their should is the heaviest, and their families are also affected if they see that their loved ones are being screamed at or castigated. The least we can do is to provide moral support. We have no perfect men or women, only normal men and women.”
In his fabricated speech, the Minister has also told an outright lie as there has been no incident of any member of the public “screaming” at SMRT staffs.
The corrupted Transport Minister absolved himself of all responsibilities over the flooded train tunnel incident and pushed all blame to SMRT:
“The flooding of the Bishan-Braddell MRT tunnel on Oct 7 was not a failure of engineering, but a “failure of organisational management” at SMRT. The Oct 7 incident throws up other issues: HR policies, staff rotation, staff supervision, staff engagement and staff motivation.”
continue reading here :
http://statestimesreview.com/2017/12...igate-at-smrt/
You know why your commuters make so much noise Mr Khaw ? The PAP government took $I billion Singapore dollars from taxpayers and bought over the assets of the transportation sector without asking for permission from your taxpayers claiming to be under a new rail financing model . As a result your commuters expect your mrt services to be in tip top condition with zero disruptions and delays . But in the end look what happen . Even God is not happy with SMRT & PAP and sent a lightning strike to warn you . Every time there is a disruption and or delay your commuters are late for work ; school and their appointments . On top of that you still want to raise fares . So you think that is fair to your commuters ?
SMRT Chairman Seah Moon Ming steps down as CEO of oil & gas company to focus on SMRT
He wants to focus on his work at the very beleaguered transport operator.
By Sulaiman Daud | 19 hours
Can someone lead two companies at the same time? It seems like the answer is no, if one of those companies happens to be SMRT.
On Tuesday, Dec. 5, local oil and gas company Pavilion Energy announced that its CEO Seah Moon Ming, who also happens to be Chairman at SMRT (yes, that SMRT), will by end-January next year step down from his post at the firm.
He will retain his role until he is replaced on Feb. 1, 2018.
You might remember Seah’s name — we first met him in the middle of October at a long-awaited press conference on the Oct. 7 Bishan tunnel flooding incident, where he was the only high-ranking SMRT official to bow in apology for what happened.
You can read part of the statement below, and the full statement here:
“Pavilion Energy has announced that Mr. Frédéric Barnaud will succeed Mr. Seah Moon Ming as CEO of both Pavilion Energy and its subsidiary, Pavilion Gas, on 1 February 2018.
Pavilion Energy Chairman, Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, thanked Mr. Seah for the pivotal role he played in the creation and success of the company, and expressed his confidence that the Group would transition well to its new leadership.”
Priority: SMRT
The company’s chairman, Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican, gave Seah a glowing tribute in the announcement, but also mentioned Seah’s intention to focus on SMRT upon his appointment as its Chairman:
“When he was appointed as Chairman of SMRT Corp in July, Moon Ming had indicated his wish to devote more of his time and focus his attention to this new role, once a suitable successor (for him as CEO) had been identified.
The Board then embarked on a global search to identify a suitable candidate to take Pavilion Energy forward on its next phase of growth. We were delighted that Frédéric has agreed to join the company. The Board is confident that Moon Ming leaves the Group in a strong position, and the Group will transit to new leadership well based on these solid foundations.”
continue reading here :
https://mothership.sg/2017/12/smrt-c...on-energy-ceo/
I hope Mr Seah is able to clean up SMRT poor service record and make the public trust SMRT trains again . If not it will be going to from bad to worse . It will interesting to find out who is Mr. Seah
Teck Lee LRT station remains shut for over 10 years despite assurances by the authorities
December 6, 2017
Teck Lee LRT station – a station on the Punggol LRT Line – remains shut over a decade after it was built despite repeated assurances by the authorities. It is the only LRT on the Punggol network that remains closed to date:
redwire-singapore-teck-lee-lrt-3
The Punggol LRT line officially opened on 29 January 2005. Planning for the line had been in the works since 1999 and construction was completed in 2004.
The area surrounding Teck Lee station, named after a prominent businessman Lim Teck Lee, was slated for residential development back then but such plans never materialised.
Today, the dilapidated station is shrouded by forests, as can be seen in this video of the area by filmmaker Maxson Goh, published in October this year.
The authorities have repeatedly announced that Teck Lee station will be opened shortly but such plans have not come to fruition so far.
On 29 Dec 2016, SBS Transit announced that the station will open in tandem with developments in the region surrounding the station. Such plans did not materialise.
Earlier this year, The Straits Times announced that the station will be opened on 31 March 2017:
“Residents in Punggol will find it much easier to get to the Marina Country Club, near Punggol Way, when another station on the Punggol light rail transit (LRT) system opens for service next Friday.
“Teck Lee station (PW2) is set to open when its surrounding area is developed. The loop service ends at Punggol Town Centre station – which is connected to the Punggol MRT station.”
These latest plans also did not come to pass.
Interestingly, trains passing through the Punggol LRT network always stop at the empty station but the doors never open. This, coupled with the decrepit appearance of the station, has prompted urban legends and ghost stories about the station and the cause of its closure to abound.
For now, it remains unclear whether Teck Lee is another victim of poor government planning.
continue reading here :
http://www.theindependent.sg/teck-le...e-authorities/
More likely wasting taxpayers’ money .
MRT service between Boon Lay and Gul Circle stations resumes after train fault
07 Dec 2017 05:41AM (Updated: 07 Dec 2017 06:55AM)
SINGAPORE: Train service between Boon Lay and Gul Circle stations on the East-West Line resumed after a train fault on Thursday (Dec 7) morning, according to SMRT.
At 5.22am SMRT said that there would be no service between Boon Lay and Gul Circle following a train fault.
Later in a tweet posted at 6.05am, the rail operator said services had resumed between the stations and that free regular bus and bridging bus services were still available to commuters.
At 6.24am, SMRT posted another tweet saying that free bus services have ended with the track fault cleared.
Read more at
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...esumes-9476250
Still having problems ? What kind of train fault ? Do you expect your commuters to have faith in your mrt system Mr Khaw ? What if there is another serious incident ?
Khaw: Train system is complicated, “it will fail sometimes, hopefully rarely. But it will fail.”
December 6, 2017
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan acknowledged that the Oct 7 MRT tunnel flooding incident was caused by a failure of organisation management at SMRT, and not a failure of engineering, yesterday.
Speaking at the 5th Joint Forum on Infrastructure Maintenance at the Environment Building on Scotts Road, Khaw asserted: “SMRT will learn from it and emerge stronger. I have full confidence in Chairman Seah Moon Ming and his team.”
Khaw further requested that the public understand and support SMRT and its employees:
“Not just for Seah Moon Ming, but also for his management, and the rank and file at SMRT. That would make his job much easier, and raise the morale of everyone down the line. Remember Seah Moon Ming is not Superman; none of us are.”
The Minister also acknowledged that the authorities are working on “what could and should have been done years ago” and that the least members of the public can do is offer moral support:
“Out of six major renewals, two are done, four more to go, and they are also major ones, especially power supply.
“Beware too that SMRT may experience other incidents along the way as we try to catch up in short order on what could and should have been done years ago. The hardest role is always the men and officers fighting in the trenches. The burden on their shoulders is the heaviest. And their families are also affected if they see that their loved ones are being screamed at, or castigated.
“The least that we can do is to provide moral support.
“Fortunately, the pride in SMRT still lurks among the rank and file. And we can build on that. They need our full support above all else, so that they have the time and the space, and the encouragement, for them to put in their very best.”
The Minister also took the opportunity to announce that the Public Utilities Board (PUB) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) – a statutory board under the Transport Ministry – have formed a joint Standing Committee to regularly review tunnel flood prevention works.
continue reading here :
http://www.theindependent.sg/khaw-tr...-it-will-fail/
So do you still want to vote for the PAP ?
LTA report reveals how easily SMRT tunnel flood at Bishan should not have happened
We can’t completely rely on machines to do certain jobs just yet.
By Sulaiman Daud | 20 hours
There’s a saying out there which goes: “If you build a fool-proof system, only fools will use it.”
The saying comes to mind when reading the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) report on the Oct. 2017 flood at Bishan MRT station.
The report was published in full on Dec. 5 on LTA’s website, and you can read it for yourself at this link.
If you do, you might be struck by how easily this flood could have been prevented — and yet it happened anyway.
All you need to know
Put simply, Bishan MRT station is equipped with a big storm tank for excess rainwater to drain into.
The tank is equipped with switches that measure the amount of water in it, and electric pumps that pump water out of the tank to prevent it from overflowing.
LTA’s report gives three possible reasons for why the tank overflowed anyway.
The first is that the float switch at the bottom of the tank could have been stuck. The switch has to float with its rounded end up to close the electrical circuit.
LTA and Singapore Test Services (STS) experimented by using the sludge from the tank itself, and found that the switch could indeed get stuck. And you thought your job was bad.
Screen shot from LTA.
Logs show that the last time an SMRT maintenance crew repaired the pump system was on July 13. The pump system has two settings, “Manual” and “Automatic”.
The logs also show that the pumps were not activated after July 13, until Oct. 7 on the night of the flood itself, when they were manually activated.
So that means for about four months, the pumps didn’t activate even once. The crew might have failed to re-set the pump controls back to “Automatic” from “Manual” after finishing their repairs on July 13.
Which does seem like a pretty big oversight.
continue reading here :
https://mothership.sg/2017/12/lta-re...nnel-flooding/
This incident not only shows that the workers did not do their job properly but it also reflects badly on the management on their failure to audit ; inspect and supervise their men . This is an organizational failure which top management MUST be held responsible .
Crowds, delays at Jurong East MRT station after unexpected platform closure, commuters say
07 Dec 2017 07:03PM (Updated: 07 Dec 2017 09:34PM)
SINGAPORE: Evening rush-hour commuters at Jurong East MRT station reported large crowds and delays after platforms at the station were closed unexpectedly on Thursday (Dec 7).
Several commuters told Channel NewsAsia that platforms D and E were closed, and that they were being redirected to other platforms where trains were continuing to run.
In response to Channel NewsAsia’s queries, SMRT said this was due to a “track circuit fault” near Jurong East MRT station.
“Only one platform was available for commuters on the North-South Line. While there were no delays to train arrival timings, commuters experienced congestion on the platform,” said Mr Patrick Nathan, vice president of corporate communications.
Channel NewsAsia reader Zarina Zainol, who was travelling to Choa Chu Kang on the North-South Line, said the platform was cordoned off and commuters were directed to Platform A instead.
Read more at
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...osures-9478550
Well done SMRT . You never seemed to disappoint your commuters . What a world class transport system . So how Mr Khaw ? Still don’t want to set up an Independent Committee of Inquiry ? Still want to vote for PAP ?
Track circuit fault causing Jurong East platforms closure left unreported on SMRT social media pages
December 7, 2017
A “track circuit fault” caused platforms D and E at Jurong East MRT station to be unexpectedly closed during evening peak hours today, inconveniencing countless commuters.
Besides the platforms closure, all the escalators were inexplicably moving in a single direction, downwards, causing even heavier congestion in the station.
A 28-year-old pregnant woman, Ms Zarina, told reporters that she was forced to climb the stairs as other commuters in the crowded station were “pushing (her) off the lift.”
SMRT staff were seen redirecting crowds after from the closed platforms that had been cordoned off as commuters hoping to travel along the North-South and East-West MRT lines during the busy peak hours experienced travel time delays.
SMRT vice president of corporate communications, Mr Patrick Nathan, later confirmed to reporters: “Only one platform was available for commuters on the North-South Line. While there were no delays to train arrival timings, commuters experienced congestion on the platform.”
He added that station announcements were made to keep commuters informed.
However, no announcements of the platforms closure or congestion and ensuing travel time delays at Jurong East station were reported on SMRT’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Keeping commuters abreast of travel time delays due to service faults would have helped commuters make alternative travel arrangements or at least help them plan their trips better.
continue reading here :
http://www.theindependent.sg/track-c...l-media-pages/
How LTA ? Why SMRT never make any announcements on its social media platforms ? Why are they hiding such important information from your commuters ? Failure to communicate or don’t know how to communicate ? How do you expect your commuters to trust SMRT if simple thing you can’t even do ? How can we trust the PAP ? Really hopeless and really shake head .
No train services: 17 EW Line, 2 NS Line MRT stations fully closed on Dec. 10 & 17, 2017
Please inform the elderly, your aunties and uncles.
By Belmont Lay | 2 hours
Here’s a reminder: A total of 19 MRT stations will be fully closed on two consecutive Sundays, Dec. 10 and 17, 2017.
These stations include 17 East-West Line (EWL) MRT stations and two North-South Line (NSL) MRT stations.
The 17 EWL stations will be from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link, and the two NSL stations are Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak.
The closure is to facilitate extended engineering hours.
Each closure is expected to affect tens of thousands of commuters each time.
Earlier closure, later start time
In addition, from Dec. 8 to 31, the 17 EWL stations and two NSL stations will close earlier on Fridays and Saturdays at 11pm and open later on Saturdays and Sundays at 8am.
continue reading here :
https://mothership.sg/2017/12/mrt-pa...er-2017-dates/
Why don’t you close for 1 month and fix all the problems once and for all ?
Early closures of 19 MRT stations get off to undramatic start
By Kelly Ng
Published 08 December, 2017
Updated 08 December, 2017
SINGAPORE — Early closures of MRT stations on the western half of the rail network got off to smooth, uneventful start on Friday night (Dec 8), with commuters directed to the steady stream of shuttle buses that operated in the absence of train services.
Marshalls seen directing commuters on a EWL train at Outram Park MRT station on Friday (Dec 8). Some passengers appeared confused as they were asked to disembark. It was the first night of early MRT station closures.
Not all commuters were aware that the early closures for re-signalling works and extra rail maintenance hours were kicking in at 11pm that night, and were surprised by the orderly manner in which the exercise unfolded.
Crowd marshals comprising mostly teenagers – one of whom told TODAY he was paid S$8.50 per hour – were seen stationing themselves at various exit points of Outram Park station at about 10.30pm.
Notices were plastered at train platforms and walkways in the MRT stations, as well as bus interchanges.
For the rest of the month, 17 stations on the East West Line from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link, as well as Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak on the North South Line will close earlier at 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, instead of the usual 12.30am, for maintenance works.
continue really here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...dramatic-start
Really paying mrt fares for a bus shuttle ride ???