Early closure of MRT stations: Hiccups and delays, but a ‘better than expected’ journey to the west
By Lianne Chia @LianneChiaCNA
09 Dec 2017 07:01AM (Updated: 09 Dec 2017 08:17AM)
SINGAPORE: The scene at Bugis MRT station did not look promising.
It was 10.50pm on Friday (Dec 8), and the last train heading west to Tuas Link had just departed. Despite the repeated announcements blaring through the station, some commuters were still left scratching their heads, looking blankly at signs on the platform that stated clearly: Train Service Ended.
A group of teenagers started looking up alternative travel arrangements, debating if they should get out and look for a taxi, while a tourist peered at the paper signs put up around the station which indicated the times of the last train to Tuas Link from the station. Then the announcement blared again: Trains will only go to Outram Park.
The early closure of 17 East-West Line and two North-South Line MRT stations - announced last month by train operator SMRT and the Land Transport Authority - had just begun, and for the rest of the evening, the stations from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link, as well as Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak on the North-South Line would be closed. Four shuttle bus services would ply the affected routes along the MRT stations, and would follow the same fare structure as trains.
Ride-hailing apps like Grab and Uber were well-prepared for the projected increased demand from commuters seeking an alternative way home. A Grab spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia that steps are being taken to ensure “drivers and passengers have the best possible experience despite the closures, and to minimise any inconveniences.” Grab also encouraged passengers to schedule rides in advance, if they knew their travel schedule ahead of time.
Uber, meanwhile, will be extending a discount code to riders in affected areas on Sunday (Dec 10), when the stations close for a whole day.
But with taxis in short supply and prices for Uber and Grab still experiencing a surge due to higher than average demand, I decided to put my faith in the train system, get off at Outram Park and brave the shuttle buses in order to continue my journey. But as the platform filled up slowly and the “Train Service Ended” sign continued to flash with no train in sight, I found myself questioning my decision.
Thankfully, a train pulled into the station within 10 minutes, and we all squeezed in. It was more crowded than usual, but the ride was, at least, a short one before we reached Outram Park and we were informed - by garbled announcements - that we would have to get off the train here.
FRAYED TEMPERS AND RAISED VOICES
It was here that I saw tempers starting to fray. Marshals in luminous vests were out in full force, directing commuters to walk out of the station and towards the bus stop where they could board the designated shuttle buses.
But perhaps due to the large crowd of people and the station’s many different exits, some made wrong turns and ended up at a different bus stop with no shuttle buses in sight. Shuttle buses, we had been told by the marshals, would be marked as such. But while there was no shortage of buses at this bus stop, it turned out that none of them were the shuttle buses, as some commuters found out to their chagrin.
“This is not the shuttle bus!” I could hear a bus driver exclaiming loudly to commuters trying to flag him down. “You’ll have to go back to the station and go to the right exit!”
Read more at
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...better-9484190
Again properly lack of communication to your commuters . What for get angry ? Sue SMRT lah .
350 shuttle buses, 700 drivers activated on first NSEWL full-day closure
By Elizabeth Neo @ElizabethNeoCNA
10 Dec 2017 01:02PM (Updated: 10 Dec 2017 01:12PM)
SINGAPORE: More than 700 bus drivers have been activated on the first full-day closure of 19 stations on the North-South and East-West Lines on Sunday (Dec 10).
They are operating around 350 shuttle buses plying four routes. The routes follow the ones that MRT trains travel along. Four hundred crowd marshals have also been deployed to guide commuters and are working over the entire day at the affected stations in a shift pattern. The operations are also supported by Transcom and the police force.
Director of operations support and resource management for buses at SMRT Vincent Gay said at a media briefing on Sunday that the effort is supported by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) as well as all bus operators including SBS Transit and Tower Transit.
Giving reporters a behind the scenes look at works during the full station closure, he also acknowledged commuter feedback on long walking distances to shuttle bus pick up points.
For example at Jurong East, there are three pick up points - inside the station, outside the station and across the street. He said these are separated to avoid congestion.
Noting that the bus network can never replace trains in terms of speed, Mr Gay said commuters are therefore advised to plan their travel.
The full-day closure at the 19 train stations today and shorter operating hours over the past two days is to allow for more track access time for engineering staff to carry out planned maintenance and renewal works.
Another full-day closure has been scheduled for Dec 17.
THREE MAIN GROUPS
Maintenance and renewal works are carried out by three main groups. These are the Building and Facility group which takes care of things like ventilation, platform screen doors and escalators, the Signal and Communications group which manages signalling equipment across the network, and the Permanent Way Team which looks after tracks.
Of the groups, there are about 40 teams under them with about two to four people in each team, and they are spread out across the 19 stations.
One of the jobs is the replacement of track circuits, which is part of resignalling works. Last month’s train collision at Joo Koon MRT station was caused by a compatibility issue between the old and new signalling system.
SMRT said there are about 1,300 track circuits in the North-South and East-West Lines and they will all be replaced
. Principal fellow for signalling and communication at SMRT Trains Keith Lim, said there are currently two teams which are working to replace three track circuits during the 5.5 hours they are allocated during the closure.
Read more at
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...ll-day-9485994
Paying train fares for a bus ride ? After replace the equipment please remember to do a proper check to be verified by LTA . Please do not be angry with the frontline staff . It is not their fault . Be angry with SMRT management and Mr Khaw and PAP .
First full-day closure of 19 stations on North-South, East-West MRT lines going smoothly, say commuters
Published 1 hour ago
Samantha Boh
SINGAPORE - Many commuters were initially caught off guard on Sunday (Dec 10) by the first of two scheduled full-day closures of certain stations on the East-West Line (EWL) and North-South Line (NSL). However, they said the exercise has been well organised.
Directional signage to four parallel shuttle bus services - towards Outram Park, Joo Koon, Tuas Link and Choa Chu Kang - were placed prominently on walls, and more than 400 staff and crowd marshals were around in shifts to direct commuters.
To help shift workers get home and to work, there was also an express shuttle bus service between Boon Lay and Outram stations; it stopped at Jurong East and Buona Vista stations as well. It involved just two buses, which left Boon Lay at 5am and 5.15am, and Outram at 6.10am and 6.25am.
Until Dec 31, 19 stations on two lines - those on the 17-station stretch from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link on the East-West Line, as well as Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak stations on the North-South Line - will close at 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and open at 8am on Saturdays and Sundays.
These stations will also be closed all day on two Sundays - Dec 10 and Dec 17.
The shuttle buses, driven by more than 700 bus drivers, ply the same route as the MRT trains. The fares for these shuttle bus services follow the rail fare structure.
Mr Vincent Gay, director of operation support and resource management at SMRT Buses, said some commuters have complained about the walk to the shuttle bus queues, which are rather spaced out.
Passengers boarding shuttle bus to Outram Park
He said this arrangement was to prevent the road network from becoming congested.
Madam Lai Hun Fua, 50, a service employee at a shopping centre, said she left her home in Jurong West to take the shuttle bus from Pioneer to Jurong East station, near where she works.
“I was afraid that it would be very messy,” she said.
“But they (crowd marshals) gave us brochures and told us about the different shuttle bus routes, so it was quite easy to plan my trip.”
Her journey, including waiting time, was 20 minutes, instead of the usual eight minutes.
Secondary 4 student Muhammad Imran, 16, said he forgot that the closure was happening on Sunday.
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Lee Hsien Loong celebrates giving S$1.1 billion to SBS and SMRT
December 9, 2017
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong today (Dec 9) celebrated the completion of a S$1.1 billion worth of free buses given to private transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT over the past 5 years. Started in 2012, the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) gave 1,000 buses away to protect the profits of SBS Transit and SMRT.
The legalised corruption to publicly fund private companies was passed in 2012, when bus services were declining and the duopoly transport operators refuse to pay for new buses out from their own pockets. Despite spending S$1.1 billion, bus waiting time continue to be infrequent with frequency as long as 20 minutes during peak hour period.
Following the failure of the BSEP to motivate private companies to invest more in infrastructures, the Singapore government then introduced the new contracting model where taxpayers pay for hefty maintenance expenses and the purchase of new buses, while the SBS Transit and SMRT get the profitable part of administering manpower and operations.
Singapore’s public transport continue to be plagued by overcrowding due to the island being overpopulated. Train breakdowns are increasingly common and especially frequent during peak hours. According to the Transport Minister last month, the power stations were unable to handle the sheer frequency of trains running to meet peak hour demand.
Dictator PM Lee Hsien Loong today also launched a new bus service, 71, to commemorate the end of the corrupted BSEP scheme. However, he did not make any speech or comment on the failure of the BSEP and the worsening state of public transport.
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MRT’s chequered journey and the power of social media and commuters
December 10, 2017
The first concrete step in long-suffering Singapore commuters’ journey to a decent, just a decent, MRT starts today (Sunday), hopefully.
Thanks to the undeniable power of social media and commendable public refusal to accept a forced down culture of we-can-do-no-wrong – and no thanks whatsoever to a state-controlled media’s largely compliant and shamefully collaborative role not to rock the boat.
Trains will not be in operation along the East-West Line from Tuas Link to Tiong Bahru and on the North-South Line at Bukit Batok and Bukit Panjang today and next Sunday. In addition, from Dec 8 to Dec 31, the 19 EWL stations will close earlier on Fridays and Saturdays (at 11pm) and open later on Saturdays and Sundays (at 8am).
The shorter operating hours will double engineering and track access time for engineers to “accelerate” re-signalling works on the EWL.
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Part-timers, mostly students, help guide commuters during full MRT station closures
By Kenneth Cheng
Published10 December, 2017
Updated 10 December, 2017
SINGAPORE — The neon-green vests of the part-time crowd marshals were hard to miss, as they fielded a litany of questions from commuters — including irate ones — at MRT stations affected by the first of two full Sunday closures.
Paid S$10 an hour, these crowd marshals — many of them students — were among more than 400 people, including employees from rail operator SMRT, roped in on Sunday (Dec 10) to guide commuters by pointing them to alternative transport.
A total of 17 MRT stops 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 completely this and next Sunday, to allow engineers more time for maintenance and renewal work.
Working 10-hour shifts, with a 45-minute meal break, marshals on the morning run, for instance, work from 5.30am to 3.30pm.
At the Jurong East MRT Station, Lim Ming Xiang, 16, who is waiting for his O-Level results, stumbled on the gig earlier this week, after applying for another position at the recruitment agency People Advantage.
Echoing the views of other marshals who spoke to TODAY, Ming Xiang said the job was “tiring” because commuters would vie for his attention at the same time, firing off questions in various languages.
Fielding questions from tourists and foreign workers called for more detailed explanations of the routes taken by the shuttle buses ferrying commuters between stations, he said, adding that he resorted to hand gestures at times.
“There’ll be a non-stop wave of people. You’ll be speaking non-stop for 15 minutes at a time,” he said. He had “lost count” of the number of commuters he helped when TODAY spoke to him on Sunday afternoon.
continue reading here :
https://www.todayonline.com/singapor...ation-closures
Using cheap labour .
Signalling tests, upgrading station facilities among work done during full Sunday closure
By Kenneth Cheng
Published10 December, 2017
Updated 10 December, 2017
SINGAPORE – From replacing station lights that require extensive scaffolds to reach, to running trains on a new signalling system over a longer period, all-day MRT station closures will give rail workers a window to carry out work otherwise constrained by limited non-service hours, rail operator SMRT said.
Early on Sunday (Dec 10) – the first of two Sundays of station closures – the operator put the new signalling system through the paces by running trains along parts of the affected 19-station stretch on the East-West and North-South Lines for about eight hours. This could not be done with the three non-service hours it has each night, SMRT said at a media briefing.
A total of 17 MRT stops on the East-West Line from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link, as well as Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak along the North-South Line shut completely on Sunday, to allow more time for track maintenance and renewal work. The next full-day closure will happen next Sunday.
Giving reporters a peek into the work being done during a visit to the Jurong East MRT Station, Mr Siu Yow Wee, SMRT Trains’ director for building and facilities, said these include replacing components of the platform screens, such as rollers, which require workers to go down onto the tracks.
The closures also allow workers to clean the jet fans, or blowers, in the stations. As they carry “a lot of dust”, the fans cannot be cleaned during service hours, he said.
On Sunday, 40 SMRT teams, comprising about 160 engineers and technicians, were out and about doing maintenance and renewal work.
“Everybody is competing for track access to clean (these components), so today, we have the opportunity to do all this cleaning … Station closures do help us hasten these corrective maintenance (work),” said Mr Siu.
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State media issues fake news of chaos at 19 MRT stations closure
December 10, 2017
154th-ranking propaganda state media Singapore Press Holdings and Mediacorp have collaborated to present fake news of the first day of the closure of the 19 MRT stations starting today (Dec 10).
According to commuters present at the stations, the on ground situation was a complete chaos contrary to government media reports claiming “commuters taking in their stride” and “better than expected journey”. Frustrated commuters took to Twitter and Facebook to make complains about the fake news of government state media.
Over 400 road marshals were deployed, with many being untrained part-timers who are students on holiday gig. According to a state media interview, they are paid S$10 an hour on a 10-hour work shift. Only a 45 minute break is given and the students were constantly overwhelmed by the sheer number of commuters who are confused by the train closures. Some commuters also noted that the road marshals do not know the actual way and that their directions are unclear. Some road marshals complained that SMRT did not give any formal training, and that they were only given a short 15 minute briefing.
Aside from lacking in manpower, bus frequency also came at between 10 to 15 min, with some buses being overloaded and queues stretching as far as 500m in major stations like Tampines, Clementi, Jurong and Bugis. Traffic conditions were more congested and overcrowding is common at every train replacement bus stops.
The closure of the 19 train stations also brought corruption opportunities to the cronies. Temasek Holdings-owned Certis Cisco’s recruitment agency People Advantage is the main contractor of the part-timers and earned an undisclosed sum off the S$10 an hour part-timers. Uber rental, where Temasek Holdings-owned ComforDelgro just acquired 51% shares on Friday, also swooped in offering discounts to commuters who are frustrated with SMRT on the day. SMRT also managed to access legalised corruption rights from the Land Transport Authority to charge commuters for train replacement buses. Each shuttle bus charges the normal rate of a train ride.
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Mr Khaw should consider stepping down for sake of his health and commuters
Published on 2017-12-11 by The Online Citizen
by Tan Kwong Moh
Transport Minister, Mr Khaw Boon Wan wrote on his Facebook saying that he turned 65 on Dec 8, but he felt like a 70 years old man because of the unresolved MRT woes. Does it mean that he may step down as transport minister?
Yes, MRT commuters are frustrated because of too many MRT woes, such as delays, breakdowns due to problems with the new signalling system or track-faults which still can’t be resolved till date.
The worst incidents till date were the collision of two trains at Joo Koon station and the malfunctioning pumps in Bishan which led to flooding in the MRT tunnel in October. According to the experts, the flooding incident was preventable and therefore eight staff involved in this incident had been fired by SMRT.
Now Mr Khaw admitted he is old. And we understand that he also went for heart surgery before. So, perhaps it is advisable for him to consider stepping down or take up a less stressful and lighter responsibility of portfolio.
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LTA awards MRT tunnel contract to Chinese firm previously blacklisted by World Bank
December 11, 2017
By: Vincent Low/
Last Friday, 8 Dec 2017, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) issued a press release announcing that it has awarded the construction of MRT tunnels between Punggol station and the future Punggol Coast station on North East Line Extension to a Chinese firm, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited (CSCEC).
CSCEC won the contract with the lowest bid of $79 million. The contract involves the construction of an 830-metre tunnel between Punggol and the future Punggol Coast station. Works are expected to commence by this month and complete in 2023, LTA said.
However, a quick check online shows that CSCEC has been blacklisted by the World Bank before.
In 2011, the World Bank blacklisted eleven Chinese companies for corruption and fraud, according to a report by SCMP. Most of these Chinese firms were banned for violating World Bank regulations on procurement.
CSCEC was named as one of the eleven. Those banned by World Bank would not be eligible for World Bank-financed contracts and under a 2010 cross-debarment agreement, contractors debarred by the World Bank may also be debarred by other multilateral development banks such as the Asian Development Bank.
Poor-quality sea sand used in construction of skyscrapers in China
Four years ago (2013), Wired as well as Bloomberg reported about a sand scandal brewing in China at the time.
Shenzhen city inspectors discovered that low-quality concrete using raw, unprocessed sea sand had been used in the construction of at least 15 buildings in Shenzhen, including the Ping An Finance Centre, one of China’s tallest.
Both Wired and Bloomberg reported that construction of Ping An Finance Centre and others were halted by Shenzhen’s Housing and Construction Bureau.
continue reading here :
http://www.theindependent.sg/lta-awa...by-world-bank/
I wonder if LTA ever did a check on this company or not ?