I have no idea why they pay someone so high to run a state owned monopoly. There is no competition. The only valid reason is that it continues to improve its services and keep its customers happy. Which was never the case.
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SMRT vs Saw Phaik Hwa vs LTA vs Temasek vs Govt
- Thread starter scroobal
- Start date
There is no subsidy. It actually belongs to LTA, paid for by LTA and maintained by LTA. Only rolling stock belongs to them and detachable assets belong to them. It's even better than subsidy. This is the same "template when PSA, Power Stations etc were given away to Ho Ching. It was never packaged to serve the public, it was serve Temasek's needs. Agree on their profit component. Their financial reports are substandard and no different to all other GLC with the exception of DBS and SIA which were packaged by the old guards. They brought in an ex-goalkeeper to coach the National Football team and their focus is to keep the ball out of the net. Who is going to score for them, who is going to increase services, who is going to look after commuters stuck in the train has yet to be worked with LTA.
Dear. Scroo
The literature indicates that SMRT pays for the O n M costs of the fixed assets of LTA ?
Thanks
Locke
The literature indicates that SMRT pays for the O n M costs of the fixed assets of LTA ?
Thanks
Locke
Yes, they do which is quite common. These are the electricity bills, etc. no different to a tenant paying the bills to a landlord. This lady has no interest in the condition of the landlord's house nor its importance to the community. Looks she is using it as a place lucrative place of assignation.
The maintenance refers not to the minor maintenance but other issues. Her comments about Jurong East was quite telling.
The maintenance refers not to the minor maintenance but other issues. Her comments about Jurong East was quite telling.
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If you read between the lines of what Lui said, you can see that the go ahead has been given. The altar has been prepared, the fires have been lit and the knife has been sharpened. The goat has been trussed up and and looks resigned to her fate. It is going to be public and humiliating aka TT Durai.
Bro, I hope you are right. This is better than 72 virgins.
My guess is that they like to rope in one person who has experience in the industry to impress higher-ups and the public that they are ready to run the show well. But how much value can the person bring or how willing are they to adopt the fella's suggestion is another thing. The initial set up may be according to experts specification but after a fews years of hitchless runs, they will dump the experts and think they are 'experts' and screw the system to a slow death. In Spore, the mindset is to pay peanuts, and let the workers go through a standard procedures and that's it, day in day out. When questioned, they are always ready to defend that maintenance and due diligence has been executed to appear that any incident henceforth is beyond their expectation, thus should be absolved from blame. :(
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She can always go back to Malaysia as they may require her services and experience managing an MRT. Good luck to her.
I also figure that LTY appointed to the Transport Ministry only look at the existing problems when complaints surface. So while he was fire-fighting, I doubt he had a good look or anticipate the technical side of it. Maybe he does not even know what to look for in the first place.
That is very much the situation, I believe. Nicely put.
For all this talk about corporatization and privatization resulting in better efficiency, this has never happened. What has happened is that the service providers have become more profitable while standards dropped. This is because its not really a true market system where service providers compete to provide the best value for money.
As can be easily observed, every service provider is exerting monopoly over their own turf rather than engaging in free market competition. And furthermore, each service provider is functioning from the principles of being a state owned enterprise rather than a privately owned enterprise. When your shareholder is the govt itself, its different from answering to private investors. This is why SG has become a second China. Literally, in every sense of the word.
Good stats.
As I replied to another forummer, all this points to the fact that service providers are operating on basis of being state owned enterprises, not free market agents. And as such they have very different priorities.
Not that the daughter in law did not try re wresting control of SIA...apparently she wanted to show that her boys could run Silkair better when it was in the red not realising that this was deliberate financial massaging to curb jealousy of neighbouring airlines....
Reminds me of the cheap auto gates install at my former Singapore condo that breakdown every few months. Should have bought an expensive model that is more resistance to moisture malfunction. But stubborn bird brain decision maker was chirping cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap.
I remember my relative ever mentioned about how his minister boss has to be in office by 7am and work until 9pm daily. Sound familiar?
How many of these ministers dare to make tough decisions that goes against the top Harry boss.
And how much of these bad culture permeates to MRT?
Ultimately, it boils down to the work culture and the amount of professionalism that passed thru the bureaucratic and political machinery.
Eg Whistle blowing on safety reliable issues before the commuters complain. No point having capable engineers who only complain at the Friday pub night chillout.
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Public inquiry to look into MRT disruptions: PM Lee
By Saifulbahri Ismail, Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 17 December 2011 1754 hrs
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has ordered a public inquiry, after trains on the North-South Line broke down on Saturday morning - the third MRT disruption in four days.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday afternoon, Mr Lee said the committee of inquiry will be similar to that formed after the Nicoll Highway collapse in 20 April 2004.
More immediately, a thorough check of the rail system will begin on Saturday after, after the train services end.
Train services on the North-South and East-West Lines will be delayed on Sunday, and will begin only at 10am, after checks are complete.
The consecutive breakdowns concerned the prime minister so much that he has cut short his vacation to attend to the matter.
Mr Lee said: "It will be a public inquiry, the evidence will be presented to understand why these incidents happened, what is at the bottom of it and how we can make the system more robust and reliable and fault tolerant.
"So that even when a problem happens, you can isolate it quickly and you can still operate the system in a safe way."
Mr Lee expects the Committee to be formed within the next few weeks.
The committee of inquiry will be assembled by the Transport Minister and will make their conclusions public.
There are no details of the committee yet, but Mr Lee said it will comprise some members of the independent team of experts being tasked by Mr Lui Tuck Yew to look into Thursday's incident.
He said the disruptions are "unfortunate" and are taken seriously.
He also added that it's a matter of service reliability.
On Friday, the CEO of SMRT apologised for the Thursday's disruption, which left 127,000 commuters stranded.
And beyond apologies, Mr Lee added the operator needs to find out what happened, as public safety is important.
Mr Lee said: "Had it just been a one-off matter, one incident and the matter is solved, I think the operating agencies can take care of it.
"But when the incidents happened again this morning, and same thing, that meant that it wasn't just a random thing, that (it's) something more basic has caused it and we haven't quite pinned down yet, and which we have to sort out and work out.
"Such things will happen from time to time, and what's important is to make sure they happen as infrequently as possible.
"And when they do happen, we handle them as well as we can. And if we can, get to the bottom of the matter, then I think, people will see that in Singapore, we are a human society.
"It's not that we have no problems, but when we have problems, we will handle them seriously."
Earlier, in a news conference, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said the North-South and East-West Lines will open for service only at 10 am on Sunday.
This is because SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will need to make thorough checks on the trains and tracks.
Mr Lui said: "So at the end of revenue service tonight, past midnight, we will conduct a visual check on all the trains and of all the tracks along the North-South and East-West Lines.
"We will not be able to complete in time for revenue service to begin at 5.30am.
"We need more time than that. So commuters will need to take this into consideration and plan their travels accordingly."
There will be free parallel bus services along the affected lines from 5.30am to 10 am.
Some 250 buses will be deployed at an operating frequency of about 10 minutes.
If needed, operators will also increase basic bus services.
When asked if the thorough checks need to be conducted along the other lines, Mr Lui said it's not necessary at this point in time.
Mr Lui said: "We are watching the Circle Line very closely. The experience has always been that it will take a number of months before things stabilise, in terms of the defects, the incidents, as well as the number of passengers."
Mr Lui admits that public confidence in the rail system has been affected, and that operators, especially SMRT, will have to work hard to restore its reputation of reliability.
- CNA/ck
By Saifulbahri Ismail, Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 17 December 2011 1754 hrs
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has ordered a public inquiry, after trains on the North-South Line broke down on Saturday morning - the third MRT disruption in four days.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday afternoon, Mr Lee said the committee of inquiry will be similar to that formed after the Nicoll Highway collapse in 20 April 2004.
More immediately, a thorough check of the rail system will begin on Saturday after, after the train services end.
Train services on the North-South and East-West Lines will be delayed on Sunday, and will begin only at 10am, after checks are complete.
The consecutive breakdowns concerned the prime minister so much that he has cut short his vacation to attend to the matter.
Mr Lee said: "It will be a public inquiry, the evidence will be presented to understand why these incidents happened, what is at the bottom of it and how we can make the system more robust and reliable and fault tolerant.
"So that even when a problem happens, you can isolate it quickly and you can still operate the system in a safe way."
Mr Lee expects the Committee to be formed within the next few weeks.
The committee of inquiry will be assembled by the Transport Minister and will make their conclusions public.
There are no details of the committee yet, but Mr Lee said it will comprise some members of the independent team of experts being tasked by Mr Lui Tuck Yew to look into Thursday's incident.
He said the disruptions are "unfortunate" and are taken seriously.
He also added that it's a matter of service reliability.
On Friday, the CEO of SMRT apologised for the Thursday's disruption, which left 127,000 commuters stranded.
And beyond apologies, Mr Lee added the operator needs to find out what happened, as public safety is important.
Mr Lee said: "Had it just been a one-off matter, one incident and the matter is solved, I think the operating agencies can take care of it.
"But when the incidents happened again this morning, and same thing, that meant that it wasn't just a random thing, that (it's) something more basic has caused it and we haven't quite pinned down yet, and which we have to sort out and work out.
"Such things will happen from time to time, and what's important is to make sure they happen as infrequently as possible.
"And when they do happen, we handle them as well as we can. And if we can, get to the bottom of the matter, then I think, people will see that in Singapore, we are a human society.
"It's not that we have no problems, but when we have problems, we will handle them seriously."
Earlier, in a news conference, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said the North-South and East-West Lines will open for service only at 10 am on Sunday.
This is because SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will need to make thorough checks on the trains and tracks.
Mr Lui said: "So at the end of revenue service tonight, past midnight, we will conduct a visual check on all the trains and of all the tracks along the North-South and East-West Lines.
"We will not be able to complete in time for revenue service to begin at 5.30am.
"We need more time than that. So commuters will need to take this into consideration and plan their travels accordingly."
There will be free parallel bus services along the affected lines from 5.30am to 10 am.
Some 250 buses will be deployed at an operating frequency of about 10 minutes.
If needed, operators will also increase basic bus services.
When asked if the thorough checks need to be conducted along the other lines, Mr Lui said it's not necessary at this point in time.
Mr Lui said: "We are watching the Circle Line very closely. The experience has always been that it will take a number of months before things stabilise, in terms of the defects, the incidents, as well as the number of passengers."
Mr Lui admits that public confidence in the rail system has been affected, and that operators, especially SMRT, will have to work hard to restore its reputation of reliability.
- CNA/ck
As criticism mounts, SMRT explains
by Lin Yanqin
04:45 AM Dec 17, 2011
SINGAPORE - A day after SMRT experienced one of its worst train service disruptions to date, its chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa yesterday faced the media and apologised to the 127,000 affected commuters.
As she and a few other senior management members sought to give an account of the breakdown and explain its dire handling of the incident, Ms Saw acknowledged the groundswell of frustration and criticism.
"We are truly sorry about this," said Ms Saw, "I understand how difficult it is for a customer, instead of taking half an hour or 45 minutes to go home, to be stuck there for a few hours, and worse, to be stuck on a train without air-conditioning and just ventilation. And certainly if you don't know what is happening ... this has been a real-life test of how much more we need to do (to keep commuters informed)."
Asked by journalists whether she and other senior management members would resign to take responsibility for the incident, Ms Saw said it was something she would "seriously consider" if it was a "necessity".
"But I think I will reserve comment at this moment," she said.
Thursday's five-hour disruption, which affected 11 stations - from Marina Bay to Bishan - on the North-South Line, was the second in as many days after the Circle Line was struck by a four-hour disruption on Wednesday.
While SMRT is still unable to ascertain the cause of the fault in the latest incident - which damaged a 40m stretch of a power rail between the City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut stations - Ms Saw stressed that the two disruptions were "completely" unrelated.
The disruption at the Circle Line had earlier been attributed to a "communication network problem".
On Thursday's disruption, Ms Saw said the complex nature of the problem, as well as the fact that the disruption affected at least three interchange stations - Dhoby Ghaut, City Hall and Bishan - affected SMRT's ability to execute its emergency plans.
The service disruption saw hundreds of passengers stranded for up to an hour in a train which had stalled in between stations. Tens of thousands more were turned away from the affected stations and had to scramble for alternative transport.
On whether SMRT could compensate fares for those who had to take taxis as a result, Ms Saw said refunds would be based on train fares incurred.
"We also had free bridging bus services," she pointed out.
Would SMRT consider other ways of making amends beyond refunding train fares?
"The most important thing is to get things right, we really don't want this to happen again, and that's where all the energy is going to," Ms Saw said.
While the operator has expanded its network and increased train operations considerably in recent years, Ms Saw assured that SMRT has correspondingly stepped up maintenance and staffing.
When it was pointed out to her that the service breakdowns come just two months after train fares were raised, Ms Saw said: "We really apologise ... it's not something we foresaw or something we wanted to happen."
But was SMRT too profit-driven - a perception reinforced by a message dispatched to its taxi drivers of an "income opportunity" during the disruption - at the expense of commuters?
SMRT senior vice-president for communication and services Goh Chee Kong reiterated: "We are all here to serve people ... We are all here to do our very best to make sure services are good."
SMRT had earlier apologised for the "oversight" which led to the message. Mr Goh yesterday elaborated that the message was a template meant for occasions when there are large-scale events such as conventions or airshows.
Yesterday, more than 300 employees were recalled to work, after SMRT was determined that the situation could take "hours" to resolve, Mr Goh noted.
SMRT had pulled its bus drivers from their regular routes to provide bridging services. Said Mr Goh: "You have to appreciate that we don't have 10, 20 bus drivers sitting down there waiting for something like this to happen."
When asked whether Thursday's disruption was the worst in SMRT's history, Ms Saw referred to a 2008 incident and added that she was "not sure which was worse"
In January 2008, a seven-hour disruption hit services between Pasir Ris and Tanah Merah, affecting 57,000 commuters during the morning rush hour. SMRT was fined S$387,176 - the largest ever for a rail-related incident in Singapore.
by Lin Yanqin
04:45 AM Dec 17, 2011
SINGAPORE - A day after SMRT experienced one of its worst train service disruptions to date, its chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa yesterday faced the media and apologised to the 127,000 affected commuters.
As she and a few other senior management members sought to give an account of the breakdown and explain its dire handling of the incident, Ms Saw acknowledged the groundswell of frustration and criticism.
"We are truly sorry about this," said Ms Saw, "I understand how difficult it is for a customer, instead of taking half an hour or 45 minutes to go home, to be stuck there for a few hours, and worse, to be stuck on a train without air-conditioning and just ventilation. And certainly if you don't know what is happening ... this has been a real-life test of how much more we need to do (to keep commuters informed)."
Asked by journalists whether she and other senior management members would resign to take responsibility for the incident, Ms Saw said it was something she would "seriously consider" if it was a "necessity".
"But I think I will reserve comment at this moment," she said.
Thursday's five-hour disruption, which affected 11 stations - from Marina Bay to Bishan - on the North-South Line, was the second in as many days after the Circle Line was struck by a four-hour disruption on Wednesday.
While SMRT is still unable to ascertain the cause of the fault in the latest incident - which damaged a 40m stretch of a power rail between the City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut stations - Ms Saw stressed that the two disruptions were "completely" unrelated.
The disruption at the Circle Line had earlier been attributed to a "communication network problem".
On Thursday's disruption, Ms Saw said the complex nature of the problem, as well as the fact that the disruption affected at least three interchange stations - Dhoby Ghaut, City Hall and Bishan - affected SMRT's ability to execute its emergency plans.
The service disruption saw hundreds of passengers stranded for up to an hour in a train which had stalled in between stations. Tens of thousands more were turned away from the affected stations and had to scramble for alternative transport.
On whether SMRT could compensate fares for those who had to take taxis as a result, Ms Saw said refunds would be based on train fares incurred.
"We also had free bridging bus services," she pointed out.
Would SMRT consider other ways of making amends beyond refunding train fares?
"The most important thing is to get things right, we really don't want this to happen again, and that's where all the energy is going to," Ms Saw said.
While the operator has expanded its network and increased train operations considerably in recent years, Ms Saw assured that SMRT has correspondingly stepped up maintenance and staffing.
When it was pointed out to her that the service breakdowns come just two months after train fares were raised, Ms Saw said: "We really apologise ... it's not something we foresaw or something we wanted to happen."
But was SMRT too profit-driven - a perception reinforced by a message dispatched to its taxi drivers of an "income opportunity" during the disruption - at the expense of commuters?
SMRT senior vice-president for communication and services Goh Chee Kong reiterated: "We are all here to serve people ... We are all here to do our very best to make sure services are good."
SMRT had earlier apologised for the "oversight" which led to the message. Mr Goh yesterday elaborated that the message was a template meant for occasions when there are large-scale events such as conventions or airshows.
Yesterday, more than 300 employees were recalled to work, after SMRT was determined that the situation could take "hours" to resolve, Mr Goh noted.
SMRT had pulled its bus drivers from their regular routes to provide bridging services. Said Mr Goh: "You have to appreciate that we don't have 10, 20 bus drivers sitting down there waiting for something like this to happen."
When asked whether Thursday's disruption was the worst in SMRT's history, Ms Saw referred to a 2008 incident and added that she was "not sure which was worse"
In January 2008, a seven-hour disruption hit services between Pasir Ris and Tanah Merah, affecting 57,000 commuters during the morning rush hour. SMRT was fined S$387,176 - the largest ever for a rail-related incident in Singapore.
The setting up of the COI reflects just how big a political issue this has become. The nightmare will be if there is a big breakdown during the Xmas and New Year break.
Also when SMRT called the press con, CEO Saw chaired and appeared very much in charge. When Minister Lui made his comments, he directed them to the Chairman of the Board of SMRT. You should know what this implies.
Read my earlier post.I said this thingy about MRT is not just news but a biggie.SPH had to work overtime to obfuscate.Beyond that the buck stops at PM office.Any decision to sack Saw will end up in Ho Ching's lap.....and most importantly all these are symptoms---of a sickness.The virus like SARS is foreign aka FT.
All our infrastructures,like housing,public transport and health care are bursting because of the sudden increase in population. So Saw is not exactly guilty of this but 1 hour of delay where thousands were stuck without ventilation,light and most importantly instructions lays squarely on Saw lap---she cannot escape this.
Our problem does not ends with Saw's sacking.That would be only a penadol prescription.What we need is a surgery.
All our infrastructures,like housing,public transport and health care are bursting because of the sudden increase in population. So Saw is not exactly guilty of this but 1 hour of delay where thousands were stuck without ventilation,light and most importantly instructions lays squarely on Saw lap---she cannot escape this.
Our problem does not ends with Saw's sacking.That would be only a penadol prescription.What we need is a surgery.
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Another Wow.
Look at the political mileage Loong is getting from all the attention.
The political solution is, of course, a public inquiry.
I can guess who will be selected to take the blame at the end of the game.
Singaporeans should learn to voice out more.
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