2 young lives lost

[skyleon]

Risk of major disruptions 'till ageing rail systems are replaced'

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Published 4 hours ago



Khaw says projects to replace old components on N-S and E-W lines are at the halfway mark


Adrian Lim

Transport Correspondent




Until all its key ageing systems are replaced or renewed, the North-South and East-West lines (NSEWL) remain at risk of major disruptions, even with diligent maintenance, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday.

He told Parliament that projects to replace the ageing components on the 30-year-old NSEWL have reached about their halfway mark, and are targeted to be finished in 2024.

But he has asked the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to work with SMRT to see how to "squeeze out more engineering hours" and "speed up" renewal of the assets.

He drew an analogy between his heart operation seven years ago and the upgrading of the rail assets, saying his cardiologist had advised him to bite the bullet and fix his heart problem with a bypass, or risk falling dead.

To date, components such as track sleepers and the power-supplying third rail have been upgraded, while the ongoing overhaul and testing of the signalling system is targeted to be finished by the end of next year.

There are also plans to renew the power supply system and track circuits, and to replace old first-generation trains.

"When these asset renewal works are progressively completed, and as new rail lines open, they will translate into significant improvements in the resilience of our rail network and commuter experience," Mr Khaw said.



continue reading here : http://www.straitstimes.com/politics...s-are-replaced


All these upgrade and replacement should have done long time ago under the previous CEO .

[skyleon]

Are work lapses a systemic problem at SMRT? Analysts weigh in

By Aqil Haziq Mahmud

By and Tang See Kit

07 Nov 2017 09:19PM (Updated: 08 Nov 2017 07:17AM)


SINGAPORE: The near hour-long statement by Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Tuesday (Nov 7) may give SMRT a “temporary reprieve”, but it is unlikely to be enough to quell public frustration and restore confidence in the rail operator, observers told Channel NewsAsia.

In his 39-paragraph ministerial statement delivered in Parliament, Mr Khaw laid out the causes for the unprecedented disruption last month, when heavy rains flooded a tunnel at Bishan MRT station and disabled the North-South Line for more than 20 hours.

He said the ministry will not be convening a Committee of Inquiry (COI) as the cause of the flooding boiled down “to poor maintenance and neglect of duties” by SMRT’s maintenance team.

“The tunnel flooding incident was preventable. It should not have happened,” Mr Khaw reiterated in Parliament.

An internal probe has since uncovered falsification of pump and tank-system maintenance records and on Monday, SMRT announced disciplinary action against six staff along with an inquiry into another seven at managerial level.

Experts disagreed on whether further inquiry into the flooding incident is required.

Mr Khaw's statement on how a formal public inquiry need not be called may help to defray some fears about the possibility of work lapses being a more systemic problem within SMRT, said Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University.

“I think the assurance provided by the Government today was to allay concerns that there could be a more systemic rot within SMRT. The minister took the view that this is not the situation, which is why there’s no need for a COI,” the law professor said.

This will act as a “temporary reprieve” for the embattled rail operator though it is “certainly not out of the woods”, noted Assoc Prof Tan, adding that SMRT needs to “raise its game” by showing incremental improvements in order to win back commuters’ confidence.

“Public confidence is still insecure simply because while there has been general improvements in service after the major breakdown in 2011, recent incidents, even if they are few and far between, will certainly give rise to concerns about whether these issues have been properly dealt with,” he said.

“These assurances from the Government will not matter if there is another preventable major disruption.”

MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE

Dr Walter Theseira, a transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, urged SMRT to conduct a far-reaching investigation into whether organisational issues were behind the tunnel-flooding incident.

“I think the real question is whether failures occurred because people were deliberately trying to avoid doing the work they were supposed to do, or because given the resources at hand, it was extremely difficult for the responsible parties to actually carry out their work as intended,” he said.

For example, workers might not have enough time to complete their tasks, or they might have been hampered by poor coordination with other groups within the organisation.

“If those other reasons are important factors, then clearly just finding some people and punishing people will not be enough to actually fix the problem,” he added.

Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...igh-in-9384340


Is Singapore mrt system SAFE to travel or not ?

[skyleon]

Singapore transport failure clown show: The Parliament edition

Published on 2017-11-08 by The Online Citizen


by Vernon Chan

Singapore's train system has been suffering from one public embarrassment to another, breaking its own record for breakdowns every year while the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Ministry of Transportation double down by releasing questionable statistics to show that in some metrics they cherry-pick, Singapore's train system is doing better than ever.

You would think when senior management staff get caught falsifying systems management records for at least the past year, that the parliament sitting the next week would be a time of reckoning for the ministry, its regulatory body, their too-big-to-fail train operator Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT), and its line of incompetent bosses.

But then, this is the same august body that harboured the delusion of thinking it could proclaim the prime minister guiltless in open parliament, based solely on his testimony of events and not an independent investigation by a special counsel. Minister Khaw Boon Wan's performance yesterday is par for the course, in other words, for the national transport clown show.

Let's play the blame game!

Singapore's train network is three decades old. Things need to be replaced, upgraded, or they will start falling apart. Meanwhile please bear with the pain of living in a city whose infrastructure seems to be failing. Would that it were so simple as Khaw have us believe.

At other times, there is official acknowledgement from the train operators and the regulatory body that Singapore's train network is high complexity, high density system. Sometimes when trains break down on a regular basis, no one has any idea why. Sometimes the faults are traced back to an obscure interaction between separate sub-systems. Sometimes the faults are traced back to multiple standards being used within a single sub-system.

There appears to be a lack of appreciation that the train network is a highly complex system of systems. What was solid infrastructure 30 years ago can only erupt in cascading failures when there is a policy of active neglect. What is true in biology is equally true in engineering: simple failures in a sub-system that are left festering for a long enough time will cross-infect other sub-systems until the entire system is brought crashing down.

This isn't an organisational failure of the SMRT, or even a failure of its organisational culture. It's a failure of the system of systems of oversight, of which SMRT is only a member. To reiterate: this decade's series of cascading failures in the train system can only happen when there is a policy of active neglect, not just on the part of the operators but also the regulator and the ministry.

It's like SMRT trying to blaming maintenance and engineering when it is top management that has made the clown show decision to cut out maintenance from operational budget. Or like LTA trying to blame SMRT in not agreeing which parts of the train infrastructure are its duty to maintain, when both the regulator and operator have in reality decided to keep kicking the can down the road for as many years as possible.

Using the name of Goh Keng Swee in vain?

It would appear that Khaw Boon Wan threw Desmond Kuek a softball, one as soft as what Khaw and his parliamentary colleagues threw to the prime minister when he convened parliament to address accusations of abuse of power.


continue reading here : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...ament-edition/

[skyleon]

Netizens flame Khaw for saying million-dollar earning SMRT CEO volunteered for the job, “has heart in the right place.”

November 8, 2017


Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan’s remarks this week on the widespread issues plaguing the Singapore public transport system has been dominating headlines, and his comments on SMRT CEO Desmond Quek have especially been excoriated online.

During the parliamentary debate following his ministerial statement on the 7 Oct MRT tunnel flooding incident, Khaw threw his weight behind the SMRT top executive and revealed:

“He wasn’t parachuted in or being asked to go and fix this, he volunteered for this job. As the former chief of defence force, I know his heart is in the right place.”

Netizens flamed the Minister’s comments online, asserting that whether his heart is in it or not, skills and management abilities are the most important. They also questioned the Minister’s use of the word “volunteer” in referring to a top executive who is paid millions of dollars to do his job:

Carey Wong: Wah, didnt know got no selection process – all of us would have gladly volunteered for half his pay

Kenny Chong: Many workers who were fired from their jobs for poor performance ‘volunteered’ for their jobs too and were subjected to assessment of qualification, skills, relevant experience etc. Mind you he is not a fresh grad applying for a fresh grad job. Volunteering or not is besides the point. The real mysteries are:


1) Who else ‘volunteered’ or were ‘headhunted’ for the job?
2) How was he deemed best candidate given that he has no experience running a commercial public company nor engineering/rail operations?
3) How does his compensation commensurate with his qualification and experience, or the lack thereof, viz-a-viz that of HK MTR and Taipei MRT CEOs?
4) What KPIs were set for him over the last 5 years and to what extent he has achieved them?
5) In lieu of his last 5 years performance based the KPIs set, how does his earnings stack up against his achievements or underachievements?

Daniel Wong: What an own goal…What happened to “We interviewed over 20 top tier executives for the job and the board of directors picked the best candidate for this critical role”?

James Lim: I did not realise one can volunteer for such an important position, and still appointed without the necessary experience or expertise. Must be great to be in a privileged position.

Willy Kou: I also have the heart to do that job , I am also sure my heart is in the right place, just that I don’t have the talent or ability to do it right



continue reading here : http://www.theindependent.sg/netizen...e-right-place/


I volunteer to do his job at half the price . The salary savings would be evenly distribute to the rank and file to recognise for their hard work . Still want to vote for PAP ?

[skyleon]

Desmond Kuek urges SMRT staff to come out 'better and stronger' after 'collective shame' from tunnel flooding incident


By Cynthia Choo

Published: 12:05 AM, November 9, 2017

Updated: 1:03 AM, November 9, 2017



SINGAPORE — A day after an extensive parliamentary airing of last month’s flooding incident on the North South MRT line, rail operator SMRT’s group chief executive Desmond Kuek urged staff in an internal memo to emerge “better and stronger” from the episode.

“This will be a crucial new beginning for SMRT if we commit ourselves to a culture of discipline and excellence in providing safe, reliable, commuter-focused public transport services that Singaporeans can be proud of,” he wrote in an e-mail to staff on Wednesday (Nov 8).

Mr Kuek said the 30th anniversary of MRT operations should have been a celebration.

“Instead, we were awash in collective shame because a few of our staff had let us down. They did not do what they were entrusted to. Their supervisors assumed that nothing would go wrong just because it hadn’t gone wrong before,” he wrote.

“Many of you have worked hard and have remained loyal in SMRT for many years. It is unfortunate that our good deeds are being buried by such an incident. We should take this as a lesson learnt.”

He urged staff to have “integrity and not be dishonest”, stressing the need to “be accountable” and “vigilant” in their work.

“Every day, we uphold trust and open reporting without fear of reprisal from our superiors. Managers and supervisors must be responsible for the performance of their teams. Every team must be accountable for the actions of each member,” he wrote.

Mr Kuek’s email, which was seen by TODAY, was sent a day after Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan’s Ministerial Statement in Parliament on the incident, which crippled a section of the North South Line for over 20 hours and affected about 250,000 commuters.

Mr Kuek was present in the public gallery, along with SMRT’s chairman Mr Seah Moon Ming, SMRT Trains chief Lee Ling Wee, Land Transport Authority (LTA) chief executive Ngien Hoon Ping and LTA deputy chief of Infrastructure and Development Chua Chong Kheng.

Calling out the “work culture” in SMRT, Mr Khaw had said he looked to SMRT’s management to set the right tone of professionalism and excellence, to complement the audit systems in place.


continue reading here : http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...e-shame-tunnel


Mr Kuek don't talk so much you should also reflect on yourself whether have you really set an example for SMRT . Do you have the right skills and knowledge to lead a highly specialised transportation company or not ? 2 workers have died under your watch . The breakdowns have continued despite under a new rail model . If I am your boss I would have sacked you long time ago .

[sionglim]

Now ne line break down, khaw look more tired..
Thk khaw for update.
We stand infront of asean member, we are so shameful.

[yobyella]

Tired but still happy and laughing away drawing S$ million dollars annually.

[skyleon]

Commuters report delays on NSL
By Asyraf Kamil

Published: 10:00 AM, November 9, 2017

Updated: 10:07 AM, November 9, 2017



SINGAPORE — Commuters reported delays at various sections of the ageing North-South Line (NSL) on Thursday (Nov 9) morning, even though the SMRT has yet to make any official announcement regarding track or train faults.

Marketing communications executive Charlene Liu told TODAY that she was on her way to work when an announcement was made for commuters to disembark. “The train was faulty and everyone had to get off,” she said.

The 25-year-old, who had boarded the train at Yew Tee, then alighted at Woodlands station after the announcement.

“So I waited for the next train at Woodlands and when the train came, the platform doors did not open, and no one could alight or get off.”

Ms Liu, who was on her way to work at Dhoby Ghaut, said the subsequent train she boarded seemed to be moving slowly, and had “occasionally stopped” as well.

Ms Melody Ann Gibson also experienced similar delay during her morning commute.

The marketing and public relations assistant was on the train at Yishun station when an announcement was made saying that the train would be delayed as “someone had activated the emergency button”.

“After that, there was no more announcements and the train moved really slowly,” she told TODAY.

Ms Gibson, whose office is located at Somerset, said the commute from her home in Admiralty to Bishan “took much longer than usual”.

‘So I took 50 minutes from Admiralty to Bishan, when normally it would take much less than that.”


continue reading here : http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...ort-delays-nsl


train fault ? track fault ? signalling fault ? doors not opening fault ? So why no need to have a COI Mr Khaw ??? Still got so many issues not resolved . Are you hiding something ?

[sionglim]

Funny train driver din see the water seeping in..flood
Must rely on the four float switches to sense

[skyleon]

Commuters complain of delays, crowded platforms on North-South Line due to train fault


PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO

Lee Min Kok


SINGAPORE - Train commuters grappled with delays and crowded platforms on the North-South Line (NSL) during Thursday's (Nov 9) morning rush hour due to a train fault.

Complaints surfaced as early as 7.30am, with commuters reporting on social media of a train fault at Bishan station.

Photos of jam-packed platforms at several stations, including Admiralty, Ang Mo Kio, Woodlands and Yishun, were tweeted.

There was an in-train announcement at City Hall station about a train fault.
Manager Neal Ang, 38, told The Straits Times he was at Yishun station at around 8.40am when he saw that the platforms were overcrowded.

"Some gantries were closed and the escalators were stopped to manage the crowd," said Mr Ang.

The last reported train fault on the NSL was on Monday morning, when a defective train ran past the platforms at Bishan and Ang Mo Kio stations.

This led to delays for commuters heading towards the city.

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, as he delivered a ministerial statement in Parliament on Tuesday to address recent lapses in SMRT's maintenance regime, said train operating hours on the North-South and East-West lines (NSEWL) will likely be shortened - including on weekdays - to give rail engineers more time to replace and upgrade their ageing assets.



continue reading here : http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...-facing-delays


Such world class mrt system always breakdown . So how Mr Khaw ? Why SMRT so quiet ???

[sionglim]

Bus is ok, lucky.
European made.

[Gul Mufti]

Luckily the press reported .

[skyleon]

SMRT under fire by commuters for lack of official train delay announcements

No word.

By Belmont Lay | November 9, 2017




Commuters travelling along the North-South Line during morning rush hour on Thursday, Nov. 9 have hit out at SMRT.

This was after the NSL experienced delays but no announcement was made by the train operator.

30-minute wait

Some commuters complained that they waited up to 30 minutes before they could board a train.

Channel News Asia reported that a commuter experienced the delay around 7.20am, but there was no announcement made at the station.

Another commuter arrived at Admiralty station at 8am and took 30 minutes before being able to board the train towards Yio Chu Kang.

He said an SMRT announcement stated that there was a track fault at Bishan.

A fellow commuter who took the train from Admiralty station said escalators stopped working as the platform was already packed. He added that the stations were crowded from Woodlands to Newton.

However, there have been no official announcements of delays made on SMRT social media pages.

continue reading here : https://mothership.sg/2017/11/smrt-t...-announcement/


They must be thinking of what new excuses / reasons to give .


P.S Raining heavily now . So will tunnel get flooded ?

[skyleon]

Defence engineers to be attached to SMRT to help review maintenance work processes

The lack of maintenance led to the failure of a pump system and the flooding of the train tunnel, causing a massive 20-hour disruption on the North-South Line on Oct 7.

PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO

Christopher Tan

Senior Transport Correspondent

SINGAPORE - Embattled rail operator SMRT has called for reinforcement from the defence sector to help review its maintenance work processes in the wake of serious lapses.

A team of five engineers from the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) will be attached to SMRT Trains for six months starting from December, SMRT said in a statement on Thursday (Nov 9).

"With its competency in delivering capabilities for Singapore's defence and security, DSTA engineers have developed the know-how to manage complex engineering projects from concept to deployment, through to mid-life upgrades and replacement," the statement read.

They will review and recommend improvements to SMRT's "operations and support capability, covering organisation and policies, processes and procedures, and competency and training".

The Temasek-owned company, led by former chief of defence force Desmond Kuek and a selection of former military senior officers, will also have experts from Taipei Metro on board to help fix its woes.

"The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp will be sending a team to work with SMRT Trains to conduct a thorough and comprehensive review to examine the way we operate and maintain the MRT network," SMRT added.

SMRT has been beset with problems related to staff not adhering to standard operating procedures in recent years. On Oct 7, MRT tunnels between Bishan and Braddell stations were flooded during a downpour, crippling a large section of the North-South Line for some 20 hours.

Investigations after the incident found that maintenance crew may have falsified work logs for three quarters since last December.

A fire also broke out on the same day. It was traced to a metal bolt that was left behind after work that was done years before.


continue reading here : http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...intenance-work


The question do they have the rail expertise or not ? Blind leading the blind ?

[sionglim]

Originally Posted by yobyella

Tired but still happy and laughing away drawing S$ million dollars annually.

Now it was found the fourth overiding switch doesnt let
Periodic service check just a add on prevention.
If anything, a failure occur before a servicing due..
It still fail.
Design, part materrial, installation must right in the very first place.