The inside on LTA Train Debacle Cover-up

Further update from the inside.

1. There are plans to "correct and clarify" from govt related agencies in a coordinated manner. Please do not buy the bullshit. For the layman, aluminium chassis construction have been in place for cars, buses, lorries, trains etc and it is not a new science. Crack on chassis is unheard and very rare. Ever heard of hardline cracks appearing in your car, an SBS bus etc. When Malaysia started Proton, their chassis was known to be much softer but never a hairline crack.

2. The cracks are not in the chassis alone. The bogies are also impacted. If LTA wants to come clean, their CEO must publicly state the full list of defects and these must be confirmed by a PE (Professional Engineer) under Chapter 253 of the Professional Engineers Act.

3. There is no clarification on the financial penalties and if further costs were incurred. They are now chasing around for the details. There seems to be an indication of contra arrangements but this must be explained clearly.

4. Transporting late in the night to Jurong Port and covering that LTA attempted to explain in their press release were never raised as an issue by FACTwire or anyone else. It was merely to confuse the ignorant. Most people know that heavy machinery and equipment and oversized loads are moved late in the night with outriders when traffic is light. Clearly LTA was addressing issues that were never issues in the first place. It shows a dishonest attempt to sidetrack and confuse people.

5. LTA still has not addressed the allegations of doctored and fabricated test data by the Chinese factory when a whistleblower made these claims in 2015. No comment even in the last 2 days.

6. As the cost of these defective trains runs into millions of dollars, its best that Commission Inquiry be constituted.

The photo supplied by LTA looks deceptive. It's more like a newly scratched surface. Is there something more serious which they are hiding?

tyudm said:

The photo supplied by LTA looks deceptive. It's more like a newly scratched surface. Is there something more serious which they are hiding?

Click to expand...

Hear only the "good" stuffs... You mean you don't listen to Gold90FM?

scroobal said:

Further update from the inside.

1. There are plans to "correct and clarify" from govt related agencies in a coordinated manner. Please do not buy the bullshit. For the layman, aluminium chassis construction have been in place for cars, buses, lorries, trains etc and it is not a new science. Crack on chassis is unheard and very rare. Ever heard of hardline cracks appearing in your car, an SBS bus etc. When Malaysia started Proton, their chassis was known to be much softer but never a hairline crack.

2. The cracks are not in the chassis alone. The bogies are also impacted. If LTA wants to come clean, their CEO must publicly state the full list of defects and these must be confirmed by a PE (Professional Engineer) under Chapter 253 of the Professional Engineers Act.

3. There is no clarification on the financial penalties and if further costs were incurred. They are now chasing around for the details. There seems to be an indication of contra arrangements but this must be explained clearly.

4. Transporting late in the night to Jurong Port and covering that LTA attempted to explain in their press release were never raised as an issue by FACTwire or anyone else. It was merely to confuse the ignorant. Most people know that heavy machinery and equipment and oversized loads are moved late in the night with outriders when traffic is light. Clearly LTA was addressing issues that were never issues in the first place. It shows a dishonest attempt to sidetrack and confuse people.

5. LTA still has not addressed the allegations of doctored and fabricated test data by the Chinese factory when a whistleblower made these claims in 2015. No comment even in the last 2 days.

6. As the cost of these defective trains runs into millions of dollars, its best that Commission Inquiry be constituted.

Click to expand...

The questions have to be asked in Parliament. COIs without opposition participation will be a white-wash. At least this cannot be swept under the OSA.

duluxe said:

Papsmearer's thread on 'Saw Phaik Hwa and case of defective SMRT trains, waiting for Gay Loong to explain' will go viral next.

- http://singsupplies.com/showthread....-SMRT-trains-waiting-for-Gay-Loong-to-explain

Click to expand...

thank you for saying so. That thread asks the big question of why was there a follow on order from LTA/SMRT for 13 of the same model train from the same maker in 2011? The trains were so bad and yet they re-order again? Where is the logic in that? And within months after the re-order, Saw Phaik Hwa resigns. I smell a rat. I wonder how much bribe money CSR gave her for the re-order. She knew she was going to be let go anyway, due to the screw ups. So, why not put in one last big order and pocket some China kopi money?

I have been told that the explanation given by LTA does not make sense. Anyone with Railway engineering please chip in.

1. Bolsters sit on Bogies (the wheel undercarriage) and support the entire train car body. Bolster are always made of steel and never aluminium or aluminium alloy.

2. Our Depots can easily replace the Bolsters with replacements bolsters.

3. Are the cracks in the steel bolsters or the aluminium car body or both?

4. Why the need to ship the entire train back unless there are multiple defects which I am told is the case.

The Price and Maths of LTA's Purchase of Trains

Let's do the Maths for LTA's purchase of the Trains from Kawasaki Consortium. Before that, we must understand that there are two types of trains in use in Singapore. The normal ones are 6 cabins/cars train while the other one is 4 cabins/cars train.

2009 LTA paid S$368m for 22 (6-cabin) trains = $16.7m for 1 train

This amount to about HK$95 m per train (take exchange rate as S$1 to HK$5.7)

2012 LTA allegedly paid S$281 million for 22 (6 cabin) trains

It means S$12.77m per train i.e. HK$72.8m

2014 LTA paid S$749m for 91 (4 cabin) trains = S$8.23m per train

This amount to HK$46.9 m per train

2015 LTA paid S$138.8m for 12 (6 cabin) trains = S$11.6 for 1 train

This amount to about HK$65.9m per train

Compare this to HK MTR's purchase.
HK MTR train is 8 cabin/car train which is supposedly more expensive than Singapore's train. BUT...

2015 HK MTR order 93 (8 cabin) trains at HK$6billion = HK64.5m

It is very clear that SG LTA is really a sucker in this deal, paying MORE for a train with less cabins (one third less) with high defective rate!

Goh Meng Seng

scroobal said:

Further update from the inside.

1. There are plans to "correct and clarify" from govt related agencies in a coordinated manner. Please do not buy the bullshit. For the layman, aluminium chassis construction have been in place for cars, buses, lorries, trains etc and it is not a new science. Crack on chassis is unheard and very rare. Ever heard of hardline cracks appearing in your car, an SBS bus etc. When Malaysia started Proton, their chassis was known to be much softer but never a hairline crack.

2. The cracks are not in the chassis alone. The bogies are also impacted. If LTA wants to come clean, their CEO must publicly state the full list of defects and these must be confirmed by a PE (Professional Engineer) under Chapter 253 of the Professional Engineers Act.

3. There is no clarification on the financial penalties and if further costs were incurred. They are now chasing around for the details. There seems to be an indication of contra arrangements but this must be explained clearly.

4. Transporting late in the night to Jurong Port and covering that LTA attempted to explain in their press release were never raised as an issue by FACTwire or anyone else. It was merely to confuse the ignorant. Most people know that heavy machinery and equipment and oversized loads are moved late in the night with outriders when traffic is light. Clearly LTA was addressing issues that were never issues in the first place. It shows a dishonest attempt to sidetrack and confuse people.

5. LTA still has not addressed the allegations of doctored and fabricated test data by the Chinese factory when a whistleblower made these claims in 2015. No comment even in the last 2 days.

6. As the cost of these defective trains runs into millions of dollars, its best that Commission Inquiry be constituted.

Click to expand...

Defective Trains from China – More than what meets the eyes.


People’s Power Party is shocked to read all the various reports that have come in with regards to the 26 defective trains out of 35 trains which SMRT and LTA have purchased from the consortium comprised of Japanese company Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company and CSR Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Company Ltd.


We demand answers for the following concerns which involved public safety and interest from LTA and SMRT:


1) According to the report by Hong Kong Factwire, SMRT has suspected that the massive breakdown in December 2011 was caused by these new trains delivered from China. That was the reason why progressive payment from SMRT was slowed down and the subcontractors suffered cashflow problem. It was also said that SMRT has reduced the frequency of the schedule of these new trains from China after that incident in December 2011. We demand a response from SMRT on the validity of this report and if so, why it was not raised in the committee of inquiry which was held to find out the root cause of the breakdown then?


2) LTA has admitted that structural cracks have been found in these new trains since 2013. We demand an explanation from LTA and SMRT why would they continue to order more trains from the consortium in 2014 and subsequently in 2015, amounting to a total of over 100 trains, after they have found an unusually high defective rate of 74% out of the first batch of 35?


3) According to records of court proceeding launched in China with regards to the labour dispute between CSR Sifang and its former employee in 2013, the former employee has stated in the affidavit that CSR Sifang has deliberately fabricated test data results and reports in 2010. Was SMRT and LTA aware of such accusations? Did SMRT and LTA send their own engineers or independent Quality Control personnel to perform or audit the various tests? Did SMRT and LTA carry out any due diligence on quality checks before these trains were shipped to Singapore?


4) It was also reported that these trains offered by the Kawasaki – Sifang consortium was not of the lowest bid. The lowest bid was offered by a Korean company. The pertinent question is why would SMRT and LTA chose to buy from the Kawasaki Sifang consortium which was more expensive but provided sub-standard quality products? Did SMRT and LTA do any due diligence on their quality test statistics before deciding to buy from this consortium?


5) 74% defective rate is totally unacceptable by any standards. Did SMRT and LTA punish the supplier and consortium by any means? Was there any performance bond submitted by the Consortium in the first place?


6) In view of the fact that there are several doubts and accusation of fabrication of vital quality test results with higher bidding price coupled with poor quality products, PPP urge the Corruption Practice Investigation Bureau to start a thorough investigation into the procurement process as this involved hundreds of million dollars of public money.


7) Concurrently, an independent Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry consisting of opposition MPs and external independent experts should be convened to investigate the SMRT and LTA should be stopped from procuring any trains from this Consortium before the findings of the COI has completed. Ministry of Transport and LTA have opined that the cracks found are not “safety critical”. However, we find their assertion lacks credibility and we should no longer believe in PAP government’s “ownself check ownself” model of governance. The COI should determine whether there is any negligence or dereliction of duties by the various parties in the procurement process and whether public safety has been compromised by these defective trains.


8) Last but not least, as a public listed company, SMRT should be censured for trying to hide such vital information of the defective trains from the general public. Transparency and accountability are two key important factors in upholding public confidence in a company like SMRT which is providing vital public transportation service. It is totally unacceptable for institutions like Singapore General Hospital or SMRT which provides critical vital public services to continue to operate in such an opaque and irresponsible manner. We demand accountability from the respective leadership for such mismanagement of public services.



Goh Meng Seng

Secretary General

For CEC

Goh Meng Seng said:

The Price and Maths of LTA's Purchase of Trains

Let's do the Maths for LTA's purchase of the Trains from Kawasaki Consortium. Before that, we must understand that there are two types of trains in use in Singapore. The normal ones are 6 cabins/cars train while the other one is 4 cabins/cars train.

2009 LTA paid S$368m for 22 (6-cabin) trains = $16.7m for 1 train

This amount to about HK$95 m per train (take exchange rate as S$1 to HK$5.7)

2012 LTA allegedly paid S$281 million for 22 (6 cabin) trains

It means S$12.77m per train i.e. HK$72.8m

2014 LTA paid S$749m for 91 (4 cabin) trains = S$8.23m per train

This amount to HK$46.9 m per train

2015 LTA paid S$138.8m for 12 (6 cabin) trains = S$11.6 for 1 train

This amount to about HK$65.9m per train

Compare this to HK MTR's purchase.
HK MTR train is 8 cabin/car train which is supposedly more expensive than Singapore's train. BUT...

2015 HK MTR order 93 (8 cabin) trains at HK$6billion = HK64.5m

It is very clear that SG LTA is really a sucker in this deal, paying MORE for a train with less cabins (one third less) with high defective rate!

Goh Meng Seng

Click to expand...

Some people made money from the deal. Sinkapore is not corruption-free.

Bro, had no idea that the employee allegations had gone to court in China. This is truly shocking as the allegations of fabricated test data goes towards the heart of passenger safety. LTA has to explain if they ever followed up on this allegations and conducted their own tests.

Its beyond belief that a statutory board of this country enacted by an Act of Parliament has failed miserably to act in a responsible manner and kept this quiet for all these years. LTA is not a for-profit company but a govt agency of this country. Their conduct is a real concern.

I think from this Singaporeans can now better understand the series of continuous mishaps in MRT over the last 6 years. and the lack of convincing answers.I wonder if Lui resigned as Minister of Transport realising that it has become a dog's breakfast that cannot be fixed in the near term and it will thankless portfolio to fix.

Goh Meng Seng said:

3) According to records of court proceeding launched in China with regards to the labour dispute between CSR Sifang and its former employee in 2013, the former employee has stated in the affidavit that CSR Sifang has deliberately fabricated test data results and reports in 2010. Was SMRT and LTA aware of such accusations? Did SMRT and LTA send their own engineers or independent Quality Control personnel to perform or audit the various tests? Did SMRT and LTA carry out any due diligence on quality checks before these trains were shipped to Singapore?

Click to expand...

I am sure many others are awaiting the mainstream launch of some worrying diversion from the mendacity that today afflicts our political class, and their insulting attitude towards those they claim to represent.

I have always said that those bastards at LTA are really good-for-nothing and not worth even a cent paid to them. Just look at the cabling problem with a 3-year old commissioned Circle Line back in 2012:

Friday, Nov 16 2012

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will fork out $2 million to $3 million to replace some cables on the Circle Line with ones of a higher grade.

Existing cables in areas which are more prone to water seepage will be replaced.

The remaining cost of the works are estimated at $12 million, and will be borne by the contractor.

Details of the line's cable-replacement programme were revealed in Parliament by Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo yesterday.

Faulty cables were found to be the cause of the three-year- old SMRT-operated Circle Line's two major disruptions in September last year and on Oct 25.

Replying to questions on the repair budget and timeline by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Yee Jenn Jong, Mrs Teo said investigations revealed that the insulation of some cables could have been damaged during installation, and that some had microscopic manufacturing defects.

"The exposure to water in the cable pit had caused cables to deteriorate at a faster rate than expected," she added.

The replacement works, which will commence in January, involve over 1,000 cables totalling 120km in length. And, with time constraints of only three to four engineering hours daily, they are expected to take 18 months to complete, according to Mrs Teo, who is also Minister of State for Finance.

However, she said that the parties involved are working to expedite this process with a "properly-executed planned disruption" of services to give more time for the works.

My Paper understands that this means train services could start later or end earlier.

Alternatively, some stretches of the line may be closed.

Source: http://transport.asiaone.com/news/transport/story/cable-replacement-circle-line-15-million

Click to expand...

That Circle Line was constructed under the full supervision by the LTA. How could they ever have allowed such inferior cables to be used? It only shows that either their engineers had been sleeping on the job or there could have been some form of corruption. At the end of the day, imagine a 3-year (only) commissioned line had to be disrupted to get their electrical cables replaced again. Furthermore, it will never be truly revealed who had to finance the majority of the cost for this rectification work?

Proper professional journalism and reporting. Not the half baked and bias reporting from the prostitute press we have here.

Here is an damning extract from the report below.

A Chinese group also won a $567m contract to supply passenger cars for Boston’s subway in 2014. That bid was won by CNR, a domestic rival of CSR. CSR also bid but it was eliminated when Massachusetts transport officials ruled that the technical, manufacturing and quality assurance components of its bid were “unacceptable”.

Click to expand...

_________________________________________________________________________________________________


http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3a618d42-4350-11e6-9b66-0712b3873ae1.html#axzz4Dj7SloGx
July 6, 2016 10:27 am
Singapore returns faulty trains to China for repair
Jeevan Vasagar in Singapore, Tom Mitchell in Beijing and Lindsay Whipp in Chicago


©Bloomberg
Singapore has shipped 26 defective Chinese-made metro trains back to their manufacturer for repair after discovering cracks in the structure linking the car body to the undercarriage, in a blow to China’s ambitions to win export deals for its rail equipment.
Hairline cracks were found in late 2013 following the delivery of new trains by CSR Qingdao Sifang Locomotive, a subsidiary of China’s main state-owned rolling stock company CRRC, Singapore’s ministry of transport said.

Singapore public transit operator SMRT said in a statement that 26 of the 35 trains delivered by the manufacturer, known as CSR Sifang, had cracks in the structure connecting the car body and the framework for the wheels, which is known as a bogie.
SMRT said it had been “monitoring the defects closely” to ensure that the trains were safe for passenger service. The repairs are due to be completed by 2019.
The superficial cracks were not “safety critical”, the ministry said, adding that it commissioned a third-party inspection in 2013 to ensure that the rail cars were safe.

China’s state-owned rolling stock manufacturers, which dominate their huge domestic market, have pushed hard in the last decade to win export orders in developed countries. They have taken on Japanese and Korean suppliers as well as three western companies that dominate the international market — Canada’s Bombardier, France’s Alstom and Germany’s Siemens.
While Chinese groups have struggled to export the country’s high-speed rail technology — despite building out the world’s largest network in just five years — they have been more successful in winning tenders for metro cars in developed markets such as Singapore and the US.
CSR Sifang, together with Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries, won a contract in 2009 to supply 22 trains for two of Singapore’s metro lines, followed by an order for an additional 13 trains in 2012.

A Chinese group also won a $567m contract to supply passenger cars for Boston’s subway in 2014. That bid was won by CNR, a domestic rival of CSR. CSR also bid but it was eliminated when Massachusetts transport officials ruled that the technical, manufacturing and quality assurance components of its bid were “unacceptable”.

After winning the Boston contract, CNR and CSR were merged to form CRRC, which began trading in June 2015. The combined companies had more than 170,000 employees and dozens of disparate subsidiaries spread across the country. But one of the main drivers for the merger was to create a national export champion by ensuring the two companies did not undercut each other when competing for overseas contracts.

A unit of CRRC this year won a $1.3bn contract to build rail cars for Chicago’s urban transport system in March after submitting the lowest bid.

The problems in Singapore are likely to underline the concerns that many in the world’s rail industry have privately expressed about the potential problems of relying on Chinese suppliers.
Public transport operators in developed countries increasingly demand highly sophisticated vehicles, often built to one-off specifications. Some mass transit operators have said privately Chinese manufacturers might struggle to meet those requirements, which have sometimes caused severe problems even for highly experienced suppliers such as Siemens.

Last year, CSR Sifang won a HK$6bn contract from Hong Kong’s mass transit operator the MTR corporation, in the largest order of new rolling stock for the Hong Kong system, and together with Kawasaki Heavy Industries secured a further S$136.8m contract to supply 12 new trains to Singapore’s transit system.

The decision to return the carriages attracted public criticism in Singapore, as it was only disclosed after being reported by FactWire, an investigative news agency, on Tuesday.
SMRT, one of two public transit operators in Singapore, has been the target of repeated public criticism over service failures on the Mass Rapid Transit system, including the unprecedented simultaneous breakdown of two metro lines last year.

“We are deeply saddened by this incident,” CSR Sifang said in a statement, adding that the defect had been traced back to an aluminium alloy used during the manufacturing process.
“This defect didn’t pose a safety risk and the vehicles can continue to operate,” the company added. “After discussions with our client, we took the initiative to offer depot repair for the defective vehicles.”

A spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said that Boston’s contract with CNR remained on track.
“The MBTA looks forward to the delivery of the first cars in 2019. A preliminary vehicle design review was successfully completed this spring, and construction of the new assembly facility is well underway,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the Chicago Transit Authority said, “CTA’s contract with CSR Sifang includes a number of quality controls for the new rail cars. The manufacturer is only paid as CTA fully inspects and accepts each rail car, and all rail cars are covered by a two-year bumper to bumper warranty.
“CTA will work closely with the manufacturer at the local Chicago plant that will be built for the rail car production,” she added.

winners said:

I have always said that those bastards at LTA are really good-for-nothing and not worth even a cent paid to them. Just look at the cabling problem with a 3-year old commissioned Circle Line back in 2012:



That Circle Line was constructed under the full supervision by the LTA. How could they ever have allowed such inferior cables to be used? It only shows that either their engineers had been sleeping on the job or there could have been some form of corruption. At the end of the day, imagine a 3-year (only) commissioned line had to be disrupted to get their electrical cables replaced again. Furthermore, it will never be truly revealed who had to finance the majority of the cost for this rectification work?

Click to expand...

For the apparent super efficient and squeaky clean Singapore, this is unthinkable and beyond belief.

For the old and not as clean Toronto Transit Commission subway system, which operates in minus 30C and 35C, I do not hear of any cable problems.

rover2sg said:

Chee (SDP) has spoken up but his voice do not hold water. WP must be more vocal and effective in and out of Parliament. Low and Silva Lim must help the younger ones and not be too timid.
I believe there is much more hidden then what LTA, SMRT and SPH care to admit and reveal.

Do not stay silence after hearing the Ministers' replies - continue with counter challenges until satisfied or having shown that the replies were inadequate.

Click to expand...

I think Low & Lim bo hiu liao lah after they nearly lost Aljunied last year to 5 PAP underweights. The reality is the majority of sinkies don't give a fuck about these lemon trains.

Goh Meng Seng said:

Defective Trains from China – More than what meets the eyes.


People’s Power Party is shocked to read all the various reports that have come in with regards to the 26 defective trains out of 35 trains which SMRT and LTA have purchased from the consortium comprised of Japanese company Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company and CSR Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Company Ltd.


We demand answers for the following concerns which involved public safety and interest from LTA and SMRT:


1) According to the report by Hong Kong Factwire, SMRT has suspected that the massive breakdown in December 2011 was caused by these new trains delivered from China. That was the reason why progressive payment from SMRT was slowed down and the subcontractors suffered cashflow problem. It was also said that SMRT has reduced the frequency of the schedule of these new trains from China after that incident in December 2011. We demand a response from SMRT on the validity of this report and if so, why it was not raised in the committee of inquiry which was held to find out the root cause of the breakdown then?


2) LTA has admitted that structural cracks have been found in these new trains since 2013. We demand an explanation from LTA and SMRT why would they continue to order more trains from the consortium in 2014 and subsequently in 2015, amounting to a total of over 100 trains, after they have found an unusually high defective rate of 74% out of the first batch of 35?


3) According to records of court proceeding launched in China with regards to the labour dispute between CSR Sifang and its former employee in 2013, the former employee has stated in the affidavit that CSR Sifang has deliberately fabricated test data results and reports in 2010. Was SMRT and LTA aware of such accusations? Did SMRT and LTA send their own engineers or independent Quality Control personnel to perform or audit the various tests? Did SMRT and LTA carry out any due diligence on quality checks before these trains were shipped to Singapore?


4) It was also reported that these trains offered by the Kawasaki – Sifang consortium was not of the lowest bid. The lowest bid was offered by a Korean company. The pertinent question is why would SMRT and LTA chose to buy from the Kawasaki Sifang consortium which was more expensive but provided sub-standard quality products? Did SMRT and LTA do any due diligence on their quality test statistics before deciding to buy from this consortium?


5) 74% defective rate is totally unacceptable by any standards. Did SMRT and LTA punish the supplier and consortium by any means? Was there any performance bond submitted by the Consortium in the first place?


6) In view of the fact that there are several doubts and accusation of fabrication of vital quality test results with higher bidding price coupled with poor quality products, PPP urge the Corruption Practice Investigation Bureau to start a thorough investigation into the procurement process as this involved hundreds of million dollars of public money.


7) Concurrently, an independent Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry consisting of opposition MPs and external independent experts should be convened to investigate the SMRT and LTA should be stopped from procuring any trains from this Consortium before the findings of the COI has completed. Ministry of Transport and LTA have opined that the cracks found are not “safety critical”. However, we find their assertion lacks credibility and we should no longer believe in PAP government’s “ownself check ownself” model of governance. The COI should determine whether there is any negligence or dereliction of duties by the various parties in the procurement process and whether public safety has been compromised by these defective trains.


8) Last but not least, as a public listed company, SMRT should be censured for trying to hide such vital information of the defective trains from the general public. Transparency and accountability are two key important factors in upholding public confidence in a company like SMRT which is providing vital public transportation service. It is totally unacceptable for institutions like Singapore General Hospital or SMRT which provides critical vital public services to continue to operate in such an opaque and irresponsible manner. We demand accountability from the respective leadership for such mismanagement of public services.



Goh Meng Seng

Secretary General

For CEC

Click to expand...

csj never say anyway.gms kpkb

Shouldn't LTA Engineers have gone to China to inspect the cabins before accepting them here , then finding defects ? Looks like everybody in government going auto on us.

Satyr said:

Shouldn't LTA Engineers have gone to China to inspect the cabins before accepting them here , then finding defects ? Looks like everybody in government going auto on us.

Click to expand...

you twit.
all company will put on a nice front before handing over.

The certification is to be done by Kawasaki under the contract. Which does make sense as LTA is not an engineering body but more a regulatory body but this case proves that it is best done by an independent party which I am told is the case.

Satyr said:

Shouldn't LTA Engineers have gone to China to inspect the cabins before accepting them here , then finding defects ? Looks like everybody in government going auto on us.

Click to expand...

Further update last night.

Its looks like a case of heavy omission by the authorities in their press clarifications. Here is the latest.

1 Ministry of Communication and Information will coordinate all media related matters for this case. More like less that come out is better.

2. HK MTR have contacted LTA seeking details of the defects. HK MTR have launched their own probe as they too have ordered trains from Sifang.

3. There were heavy bracing work done on the bolsters using brackets and these were done in Bishan depot by Sifang technicians supervised by Kawasaki and certified by an independent german company as a temporary measure.

4. The source remains firm that the whole train has been sent back as the entire construction integrity is suspect as defects and cracks are not confined to bolster. The bolsters are modular in nature and can be easily replaced if it was just the case of the bolster. We will actually getting a new train which some cannibalised parts from the old trains is used.

LTA or Ministry of Transport still cannot explain why the whole train is being sent back and why new car bodies will be installed if it is just the bolster.