PA: Stop complaining about breakdowns and volunteer
February 1, 2018
In an announcement by the People’s Association (PA), the S$1 billion-a-year budget government stat board said it will provide 1,800 free manpower to SMRT to help as traffic marshals during major train breakdowns and weekend station closures. The move will help SMRT save an estimated S$3 million each day, but at an undisclosed cost off government taxes.
The PA spokesperson told state media Straits Times that people should stop “bemoaning” about train breakdowns and volunteer to help:
“However, there cannot be enough ‘paid staff’ to manage large crowds affected by an unplanned major disruption, especially in the initial period. We believe that instead of bemoaning the situation, it would be more positive and constructive for us to do what we can to help people in need. We do not intend to, nor can we replace SMRT’s mitigation measures.”
The Defence Ministry previously sent out NSFs to help SMRT a few years ago, but when contacted by state media reporters yesterday, they said they have no plan to do so.
Some PA grassroots members however questioned the government if public resources like themselves should be deployed to help out the private sector without payment. A few Straits Times spoke to disagreed saying that SMRT should simply hire and pay for more contractors instead.
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SMRT appoints 2 chief maintenance officers
SMRT said the move to appoint two chief maintenance officers is in line with the transition to the new rail financing framework in October 2016.
PUBLISHED 10 HOURS AGO
Adrian Lim Transport Correspondent
SINGAPORE - Rail operator SMRT has appointed two chief maintenance officers to be in charge of strengthening its maintenance regime and engineering capabilities.
One of them, Mr Yee Boon Cheow, is on secondment from the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
The deputy group director for rail infrastructure and expansion at LTA started in his new role with SMRT on Thursday (Feb 1).
He will work alongside Mr Chia Chun Wah, SMRT’s current senior vice-president for maintenance and engineering, who was also appointed as a chief maintenance officer on the same day.
Mr Yee has been with the LTA since 1999, while Mr Chia has been with SMRT since 1994.
Mr Yee will also concurrently head the Integrated Maintenance Office, which is a part of LTA’s collaboration with SMRT to jointly improve rail reliability and performance.
In a statement to The Straits Times, SMRT said the move to appoint two chief maintenance officers is in line with the transition to the new rail financing framework in October 2016.
Under that framework, SMRT works more closely with the LTA - which took over ownership of all rail operating assets - to improve rail reliability through maintenance regimes and the replacement of ageing rail parts.
SMRT said on Thursday that it also appointed Mr Alvin Kek, currently the senior vice-president for rail operations, as chief operations officer for rail.
Mr Kek, who joined SMRT in 2013, will oversee operations for the North-South and East-West Lines, the Circle Line and the Bukit Panjang LRT system.
Several changes have been made in SMRT, as the company looks to recover public confidence in its rail operations, amid public frustration with frequent disruptions and an MRT tunnel flooding in October 2017 as a result of maintenance lapses.
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SMRT appoints 3 officers to boost maintenance, rail operations
SMRT said the move to appoint two chief maintenance officers is in line with the transition to the new rail financing framework in October 2016.
PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO
Adrian LimTransport Correspondent
Rail operator SMRT has appointed two chief maintenance officers to be in charge of strengthening its maintenance regime and engineering capabilities.
One of them, Mr Yee Boon Cheow, is on secondment from the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
The deputy group director for rail infrastructure and expansion at LTA started in his new role with SMRT yesterday.
He will work alongside Mr Chia Chun Wah, SMRT’s current senior vice-president for maintenance and engineering, who was also appointed as a chief maintenance officer on the same day.
Mr Yee has been with the LTA since 1999, while Mr Chia has been with SMRT since 1994.
Mr Yee will also concurrently head the Integrated Maintenance Office, which is a part of LTA’s collaboration with SMRT to jointly improve rail reliability and performance.
In a statement to The Straits Times, SMRT said the move to appoint two chief maintenance officers is in line with the transition to the new rail financing framework in October 2016. Under that framework, SMRT works more closely with the LTA - which took over ownership of all rail operating assets - to improve rail reliability through maintenance regimes and the replacement of ageing rail parts.
SMRT said yesterday that it has also appointed Mr Alvin Kek, currently the senior vice-president for rail operations, as chief operations officer for rail.
continue reading here :
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...ail-operations
So many management changes. How about that CEO and his right hand man ? Will they be sacked or resigned ? Hope this time SMRT get the right people for the right job and not some rubbish generals who volunteers for the job. This sort of news SMRT and state media report . But they still never report about the service disruptions .
Measures planned to ease congestion at Outram Park MRT station linkway: LTA
By Nigel Chin
01 Feb 2018 05:11PM (Updated: 01 Feb 2018 06:12PM)
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be working closely with train operators SMRT and SBS Transit to ease the crowd congestion at the linkway between the East-West Line (EWL) and North-East Line (NEL) at Outram Park MRT station.
A number of measures, such as installing additional directional signs, segregating the commuter flow in both directions with barricades and deploying marshals during peak hours will be implemented by next week, an LTA spokesperson said on Thursday (Feb 1) in response to queries from Channel NewsAsia.
Over the past two weeks, Channel NewsAsia has received reports of congestion at the linkway. Photos sent in by readers showed the 300m-long linkway packed with commuters.
A commuter who wanted to be known as Mr Lim told Channel NewsAsia last Friday that he experienced the jam a few days that week at about 6.30pm.
“I was easily stuck at that short path of the (linkway) for five to 10 minutes,” said Mr Lim, 33. Hoarding can be seen blocking a section of the linkway in photos taken by him.
The congestion during peak hour on Jan 26 at the Outram Park MRT Station linkway between the East-West Line and North-East line. (Photo: Mr J Lim)
Some commuters also posted on Twitter about the jam at the linkway. One user, Eduard Pinos, tweeted at 7pm on Wednesday that there was “no movement” as the linkway was “completely blocked with people”.
Read more at
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...tation-9916688
Why now LTA and SMRT never report about service disruptions ?
LTA send spy to investigate SMRT management
February 1, 2018
Aside from having two CEOs, SMRT now appoints two Chief Maintenance Officers to overhaul the broken maintenance regime that saw endless train delays, breakdowns and even numerous corruption scandals.
Chief Maintenance Officer 1 is the incumbent senior vice-president for maintenance and engineering Chia Chun Wah, while Chief Maintenance Officer 2 is Yee Boon Chow, a bureaucrat assigned from the Land Transport Authority.
The second officer is a government proxy who served as LTA director for 10 years to monitor the maintenance regime of SMRT and also to investigate the senior management of SMRT. According to sources close to SMRT, the state-owned transport operator is believed to have withheld vital information from the authority and the government spy will report directly to LTA, signalling a growing distrust by the authority.
Former army generals SMRT CEOs Desmond Kuek and Lee Ling Wee have both refused to step down despite failing rail reliability. The two thick-skinned cronies of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have endured public criticisms from a train collision, flooding incident, increasing frequency of disruptions, shorter operating hours and two corruption scandals involving the maintenance department and purchasing department.
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Smoke seen coming from escalator at Ang Mo Kio MRT station; SMRT staff taken to hospital
05 Feb 2018 02:32PM (Updated: 05 Feb 2018 04:57PM)
SINGAPORE: Smoke was seen rising from an escalator at Ang Mo Kio MRT station leading to the underground linkway to AMK Hub on Monday afternoon (Feb 5).
The escalator has been shut down and the linkway closed “for commuter safety”, said SMRT vice president for corporate communications Margaret Teo in a statement to the media. She added that train services on the North-South Line are not affected, and that the transport operator is investigating the incident.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said one person was taken to Singapore General Hospital at about 3pm for smoke inhalation. Channel NewsAsia understands that the person is an SMRT employee.
Eyewitness Pan Zhengxiang told Channel NewsAsia that he saw smoke rising suddenly from the escalator some time between 1.30pm and 2pm.
“Many were still using the escalator initially,” he said. “The public later helped raise awareness of the situation … so (people can) avoid the escalator.”
According to Facebook user Jas Chua, there was a “pungent smell” and it was difficult to breathe.
Fire engines from SCDF were seen parked outside the MRT station.
Read more at
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...n-smrt-9928244
Now even got free smoke at mrt station . So what else is new ? What cause the smoke ?
LTA, SBS Transit conduct largest emergency response drill to date at Newton MRT station
By Cynthia Choo
Published04 February, 2018
Updated 04 February, 2018
SINGAPORE — In the largest emergency preparedness exercise at an MRT station here to date, an estimate of more than 10,000 commuters boarding the Downtown Line (DTL) at Newton station went through bag checks and security screenings on Sunday (Feb 4).
The eight-hour drill, which took place from 10am to 6pm, was jointly conducted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SBS Transit. Some 60 security personnel were involved in total.
Dubbed “Exercise Station Guard 2018”, the drill aimed to test out SBS Transit’s security measures and ground implementation plans at public transport nodes during periods of heightened security threats.
“It is also to sensitise commuters to the possibility of bag checks and to factor in additional travel time in the event of a security threat,” said Mr Joseph Goh, Deputy Director (Public Security), LTA.
During the exercise, the fare gates at Exit C of the Downtown Line at Newton MRT station were closed and commuters were directed to the fare gates near Exit A instead, where they underwent security screening.
As part of the exercise, commuters’ belongings and baggage were scanned by X-ray machines. They were also required to pass through metal detector frames before entering the fare gates.
The high volume of commuters passing through Newton station was one of the reasons why it was chosen as the venue for the first exercise this year.
Mr Goh from the LTA explained that approximately 1,500 commuters pass through the fare gates at Exit A of the Downtown Line at Newton station every hour.
Transport operators have conducted similar exercises, such as Exercise Greyhound 01/2017 at Little India station in March last year. The exercise involved a mock power fault resulting in passengers being evacuated to the station platforms.
Leading up to Sunday’s exercise, the LTA had informed commuters through media advisories, notices and their social media platforms.
Commuters were advised to avoid carrying large bags and to cater for additional travel time to factor in security screening.
Mr Goh said the checks were estimated to take between eight to 10 minutes for every passenger.
continue reading here :
https://www.todayonline.com/singapor...tion-till-date
LTA ; SBS Transit and SMRT should also conduct an emergency evacuation exercise due to incidents on mrt network .
SMRT investigating incident of smoke from AMK station escalator
By Louisa Tang
Published 05 February, 2018
Updated 05 February, 2018
SINGAPORE — A section of Ang Mo Kio MRT station has been cordoned off, after an escalator there was seen emitting smoke on Monday afternoon (Feb 5).
In a media statement, SMRT vice-president of corporate communications Margaret Teo said that the rail operator is investigating an incident involving an escalator leading towards the underground linkway to Ang Mo Kio Hub.
The escalator has been shut down and the linkway closed “for commuter safety”. Train services on the North-South Line have not been affected, and SMRT will provide updates, she added.
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Smoke from escalator at Ang Mo Kio MRT Station could be due to overheated motor bearings: SMRT
By Louisa Tang
Published05 February, 2018
Updated 05 February, 2018
SINGAPORE — Overheated motor bearings could have caused an escalator at Ang Mo Kio MRT station to emit smoke on Monday afternoon (Feb 5), said rail operator SMRT.
A section of the station was cordoned off after the escalator — which leads toward the underground linkway to Ang Mo Kio Hub — was seen emitting smoke.
A SMRT maintenance staff member was taken to Singapore General Hospital for smoke inhalation and was warded for observation.
In a media statement on Monday evening, SMRT vice-president of corporate communications Margaret Teo said: “At around 1.20pm today, our staff detected smoke from an escalator leading towards the underground linkway to AMK Hub.
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https://www.todayonline.com/singapor...tion-escalator
Lack of maintaince ? Someone never do their job ?
Khaw concedes: Off-peak travel pass scheme for elderly commuters was an utter failure
February 5, 2018
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan conceded in Parliament today that the off-peak travel pass scheme for elderly commuters was an utter failure. The scheme, which was launched in 2015 to encourage commuters to travel during off-peak hours, only managed to persuade fewer than 200 pass users to travel outside the morning and evening peak periods.
The Government also revealed that less than 1 per cent of seniors who held concession cards had made use of the off-peak pass scheme, to begin with.
The Minister called the scheme a trial that failed “miserably” and
“The result has been disappointing. When we design public schemes, it must benefit as wide a number of people as possible. After all, you’re spending taxpayers’ money.”
Following the discontinuation of the off peak pass scheme, the Government has launched lower morning pre-peak fares with up to 50 cents discount for those who travel before peak hours. The Government expects that this new scheme will benefit over 300,000 commuters.
As for elderly commuters who may face difficulties after the off-peak pass scheme was scrapped, Khaw offered that parliamentarians can “chip in” from their own pockets to help out:
“When we know a particular resident has been inconvenienced because of this, and despite the various 25 per cent discounts and so on, could not still afford their transport fares, as a local MP we do chip in if I discover such cases.”
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