- Joined
- Sep 23, 2008
- Messages
- 8,852
- Points
- 0
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100703-0000089/SMRT-has-a-plan-,,,
SMRT has a plan ...
Buses could be run parallel to MRT lines in bid to alleviate overcrowding
SINGAPORE - Public transport operator SMRT is in discussions with the Government to roll out peak-hour bus services which would run parallel to congested stretches of MRT train lines.
This is one alternative SMRT is exploring, chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa told MediaCorp, as trains are running at their highest frequency possible - given the train network's design - during peak hours.
Currently, there is one bus, Service 128, which runs parallel to parts of the North-South Line. "We're looking at other parts to see whether it can work," said Ms Saw, who declined to reveal where or the number of possible services, due to the discussions with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Public Transport Council.
Introduced in July 2008, Service 128 was the first in 18 years to be allowed to run parallel to an MRT line since such services were scrapped.
While transport policy has focused on avoiding duplicate bus and train routes, Member of Parliament Ong Kian Min felt SMRT's plan should be studied further. "The number of trains are limited by capacity and infrastructure. Buses, on the other hand, can provide more flexibility in tackling congestion on trains," said Mr Ong, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for transport.
But a potential speedbump to this plan could be commuters' preference to travel by train. SMRT has been monitoring commuters' responses to Service 128 and found that most passengers prefer to wait another few minutes for the next train rather than take the bus.
"So customers have not really supported the alternative ... We'll continue to explore this," said Ms Saw.
(In other words, she is saying she BOCHUP what customers prefer. It's either her way or out of the way hor!)
She was speaking to MediaCorp on Friday, almost a week after her comments about train loads and congestion prompted irate responses on the Internet.
While she acknowledged trains here are crowded, especially during peak periods, Ms Saw pointed out that the average number of passengers per square metre is lower than that of metros in other major cities.
(Why compare other countries? Handle your own house before u kaypoh other people's houses la!)
At a frequency of two to three minutes, SMRT train loads range from 1,200 to 1,450 passengers, or an average of 3.8 passengers per square metre. In the likes of London, Shanghai and Tokyo, it is five to eight passengers per square metre, according to SMRT.
LTA guidelines, meanwhile, stipulate a maximum loading standard of 1,600 passengers per train, or about 4.9 passengers per square metre.
SMRT said its trains are already pushing optimal levels when trains run at intervals of two minutes.
"You may add a few more (trains) here and there, but we have to watch it because every time you add a train, you're risking a train not being maintained," Ms Saw said.
(Huh? Talk cock sing song? If u cannot maintain train, then you charge train fare for what?)
Maintenance schedules have been tweaked to allow for "as many trains as possible" to be utilised, while not compromising safety and reliability, she added.
At the Jurong East interchange station, crowdedness "is a problem" due to constraints of the system's design, said SMRT.
LTA is undertaking infrastructural works at the station, due to be completed next year. Together with 22 new trains which will be put into service progressively from next May, SMRT will then be able to add more train trips.
Until then, SMRT will explore options such as parallel bus services to ease congestion.
While the new Circle Line has alleviated congestion "to some extent" - by a few single-digit percentage points - Ms Saw said it may also add congestion at some stations.
Bishan Station, for example, is one such "pressure point", as it serves both the North-South and Circle Lines. "Eventually, the more it (Circle Line) crosses the lines that are affected, there will be some impact," Ms Saw said.
she takes a train almost every week
by Leong Wee Keat
Her comments last week about crowding on trains have raised the hackles of some commuters, especially in cyberspace.
When asked if she had read the comments and blogs, SMRT chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa said with a laugh: "I'd be a very depressed person if I read every comment about me."
She went on to clarify her comments. "I never said that I didn't recognise it's crowded ... I accept it's crowded. The point is, in comparison with others, we've yet to push people into the train," she said, referring to Japan and some parts of China.
(Why compare others again? Wait push people, got molest case, our faults?)
Ms Saw was reported as saying last Saturday that SMRT does not carry what is referred to as crush loads. She had also said that "people can board the train - it's whether they choose to".
She clarified that the latter comment was made in context of the morning peak period. "It's not because ... they choose not to board. It's because they also know there's a next train that's coming, which is much less crowded," she said.
Some netizens have wondered when Ms Saw last took a train ride. To this, she told MediaCorp she takes a train almost every week, with her last morning peak trip "a few months ago".
(Kong simi lanjiao? If she takes a train almost every week, and her last morning peak trip was "a few months ago", that means she choose non-peak hours to take train la!)
"The fact is, we're so bothered by it (overcrowding) that we place senior management's attention to this inordinately," she said. Leong Wee Keat
SMRT has a plan ...
Buses could be run parallel to MRT lines in bid to alleviate overcrowding
SINGAPORE - Public transport operator SMRT is in discussions with the Government to roll out peak-hour bus services which would run parallel to congested stretches of MRT train lines.
This is one alternative SMRT is exploring, chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa told MediaCorp, as trains are running at their highest frequency possible - given the train network's design - during peak hours.
Currently, there is one bus, Service 128, which runs parallel to parts of the North-South Line. "We're looking at other parts to see whether it can work," said Ms Saw, who declined to reveal where or the number of possible services, due to the discussions with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Public Transport Council.
Introduced in July 2008, Service 128 was the first in 18 years to be allowed to run parallel to an MRT line since such services were scrapped.
While transport policy has focused on avoiding duplicate bus and train routes, Member of Parliament Ong Kian Min felt SMRT's plan should be studied further. "The number of trains are limited by capacity and infrastructure. Buses, on the other hand, can provide more flexibility in tackling congestion on trains," said Mr Ong, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for transport.
But a potential speedbump to this plan could be commuters' preference to travel by train. SMRT has been monitoring commuters' responses to Service 128 and found that most passengers prefer to wait another few minutes for the next train rather than take the bus.
"So customers have not really supported the alternative ... We'll continue to explore this," said Ms Saw.
(In other words, she is saying she BOCHUP what customers prefer. It's either her way or out of the way hor!)
She was speaking to MediaCorp on Friday, almost a week after her comments about train loads and congestion prompted irate responses on the Internet.
While she acknowledged trains here are crowded, especially during peak periods, Ms Saw pointed out that the average number of passengers per square metre is lower than that of metros in other major cities.
(Why compare other countries? Handle your own house before u kaypoh other people's houses la!)
At a frequency of two to three minutes, SMRT train loads range from 1,200 to 1,450 passengers, or an average of 3.8 passengers per square metre. In the likes of London, Shanghai and Tokyo, it is five to eight passengers per square metre, according to SMRT.
LTA guidelines, meanwhile, stipulate a maximum loading standard of 1,600 passengers per train, or about 4.9 passengers per square metre.
SMRT said its trains are already pushing optimal levels when trains run at intervals of two minutes.
"You may add a few more (trains) here and there, but we have to watch it because every time you add a train, you're risking a train not being maintained," Ms Saw said.
(Huh? Talk cock sing song? If u cannot maintain train, then you charge train fare for what?)
Maintenance schedules have been tweaked to allow for "as many trains as possible" to be utilised, while not compromising safety and reliability, she added.
At the Jurong East interchange station, crowdedness "is a problem" due to constraints of the system's design, said SMRT.
LTA is undertaking infrastructural works at the station, due to be completed next year. Together with 22 new trains which will be put into service progressively from next May, SMRT will then be able to add more train trips.
Until then, SMRT will explore options such as parallel bus services to ease congestion.
While the new Circle Line has alleviated congestion "to some extent" - by a few single-digit percentage points - Ms Saw said it may also add congestion at some stations.
Bishan Station, for example, is one such "pressure point", as it serves both the North-South and Circle Lines. "Eventually, the more it (Circle Line) crosses the lines that are affected, there will be some impact," Ms Saw said.
she takes a train almost every week
by Leong Wee Keat
Her comments last week about crowding on trains have raised the hackles of some commuters, especially in cyberspace.
When asked if she had read the comments and blogs, SMRT chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa said with a laugh: "I'd be a very depressed person if I read every comment about me."
She went on to clarify her comments. "I never said that I didn't recognise it's crowded ... I accept it's crowded. The point is, in comparison with others, we've yet to push people into the train," she said, referring to Japan and some parts of China.
(Why compare others again? Wait push people, got molest case, our faults?)
Ms Saw was reported as saying last Saturday that SMRT does not carry what is referred to as crush loads. She had also said that "people can board the train - it's whether they choose to".
She clarified that the latter comment was made in context of the morning peak period. "It's not because ... they choose not to board. It's because they also know there's a next train that's coming, which is much less crowded," she said.
Some netizens have wondered when Ms Saw last took a train ride. To this, she told MediaCorp she takes a train almost every week, with her last morning peak trip "a few months ago".
(Kong simi lanjiao? If she takes a train almost every week, and her last morning peak trip was "a few months ago", that means she choose non-peak hours to take train la!)
"The fact is, we're so bothered by it (overcrowding) that we place senior management's attention to this inordinately," she said. Leong Wee Keat
