SINGAPORE — Following a series of train-service breakdowns in the past two weeks, SMRT will bring forward some of its plans for improving service reliability, including setting up a centralised maintenance operations centre and introducing a mobile operations maintenance system that will allow field engineers to address technical issues on the go.
The centre is slated to be rolled out next year. However, acknowledging that recent service disruptions — five in nine days, including two on Tuesday — have shaken commuters’ confidence in train services, SMRT president and chief executive officer Desmond Kuek said the disruptions underscore the need for the transport operator to keep up its vigilance and maintenance efforts.
Speaking at a press conference today (March 6), when SMRT also gave an update on its efforts to improve rail reliability over the past few years, Mr Kuek said: “We have taken a rigorous comprehensive approach in reviewing all the underlying problems and challenges in our rail network. And we have taken both preventive measures to deal with some of the most common faults.”
SMRT Trains Managing Director Lee Ling Wee said the new maintenance operations centre will be completed “as fast as possible”. It will be staffed with experts who can direct repair efforts along the rail network. The mobile operations maintenance system will comprise a network of computer tablets set up for field engineers, providing them with access to a technical database and allowing them to snap and upload pictures of any damage.
It also wants to train station staff at stations to troubleshoot simple technical problems before more specialised staff arrive, and speed up staff deployment during emergencies.
Security measures on SMRT’s network are also being reviewed in light of a disruption on Feb 27 caused by a man climbing onto the track between Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Gombak stations. Steps have been taken “strengthen up some of the more vulnerable spots”, Mr Kuek said.
Accompanying these efforts are ongoing plans to replace sleepers along the North-South and East-West line to reduce track faults, and upgrade the signalling system, as well as introduce new trains. In the three years after two major service disruptions in Dec 2011 — which prompted a Committee of Inquiry to investigate and earned SMRT a S$2 million fine — SMRT has increased its pool of engineers from 176 to 288, and grew the number of technicians to 2,098 from 1,728. It has also introduced sensors and instruments to detect potential faults.
Addressing perceptions that SMRT was not acting quickly enough, Mr Kuek said the multi-year initiatives are complex and not programmes one can “buy off the shelves”. For example, procedures need to be changed and personnel trained.
He added: “Even as we are making improvements to the system, the system continues to age. At the same time, we are also dealing with the bringing in of new systems, new capabilities that interphase and interoperate very closely with the existing legacy systems.”
Yesterday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), which had earlier said it planned to review the operator’s resources and processes for maintaining the rail system, acknowledged that SMRT, together with the LTA, had made improvements since 2012.
Going forward, the LTA will require SMRT to deploy additional staff and resources to facilitate faster service recovery, crowd management and information dissemination, such deploying more service ambassadors to help commuters during disruptions.
To make a long story short.....
TOTAL INCOMPETENCE, DESMOND QUACK!
