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of Dessie Quack's Salary? How come can be like that one? How come scholar General cannot be betterer then Hongkie CEO ah?
Rail reliability: Singapore's reputation is on the line, says Transport Minister Khaw
Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure Khaw Boon Wan says Singapore still lags behind Hong Kong's MTR, but adds: "We shall catch up."
SINGAPORE: Train operators in the operator must close the gap with their counterparts in Hong Kong in terms of rail reliability, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan. At stake: Singapore's reputation.
In a blogpost on Oct 9 (Fri), Mr Khaw, who is also Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, noted that while efforts in recent years have improved train reliability in Singapore, the current situation is still “not good enough”.
"For example, although the average distance travelled before a delay of more than 5 minutes for our North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) has improved to 137,000 train-km, we are still far short of MTR’s performance of about 300,000 train-km," he wrote.
He also noted that while the MTR - Hong Kong's equivalent of Singapore's MRT network - had 12 major disruptions last year, two more than in Singapore, the Hong Kong network is "significantly longer". Major disruptions are defined in both islands as delays exceeding 30 minutes.
Said Mr Khaw: "My immediate priority is on these major disruptions: What caused the past disruptions, can we prevent a repeat, what other possible causes have we identified, and have we addressed those causes as well?"
He said the consensus view is that Singapore has under-invested in rail maintenance, and engineering capabilities in this area are still lacking. "We will need to ramp up investment in this area. We will need to recruit and retain more skilled workers. All these are significant challenges, not easy to resolve quickly, but we are determined to overcome them."
He added: "We will need time to turn around and then stabilise the situation."
While this is being done, Singaporeans should be "mentally prepared" for disruptions, said Mr Khaw, noting that even the MTR faces a major disruption on average once a month.
"We will be very disappointed when it happens, but we shall stand up, lick our wounds, examine the causes, and work very hard to prevent a repeat," he wrote in the blog.
"I hope Singaporeans will cheer us along, like we cheer our athletes even when they lose. Indeed, more than the spectators, our athletes are the most disappointed with themselves when they do not perform to expectations.
"Likewise, I am sure that every disruption hurts our maintenance crew. They told me so when I visited them. Let’s stand with them and boost their morale. It is not SMRT’s or SBST’s name that is at stake; it is Singapore’s reputation. How every one of us responds to a breakdown makes a difference.
"We are now behind Hong Kong MTR, but we shall catch up."
Rail reliability: Singapore's reputation is on the line, says Transport Minister Khaw
Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure Khaw Boon Wan says Singapore still lags behind Hong Kong's MTR, but adds: "We shall catch up."
SINGAPORE: Train operators in the operator must close the gap with their counterparts in Hong Kong in terms of rail reliability, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan. At stake: Singapore's reputation.
In a blogpost on Oct 9 (Fri), Mr Khaw, who is also Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, noted that while efforts in recent years have improved train reliability in Singapore, the current situation is still “not good enough”.
"For example, although the average distance travelled before a delay of more than 5 minutes for our North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) has improved to 137,000 train-km, we are still far short of MTR’s performance of about 300,000 train-km," he wrote.
He also noted that while the MTR - Hong Kong's equivalent of Singapore's MRT network - had 12 major disruptions last year, two more than in Singapore, the Hong Kong network is "significantly longer". Major disruptions are defined in both islands as delays exceeding 30 minutes.
Said Mr Khaw: "My immediate priority is on these major disruptions: What caused the past disruptions, can we prevent a repeat, what other possible causes have we identified, and have we addressed those causes as well?"
He said the consensus view is that Singapore has under-invested in rail maintenance, and engineering capabilities in this area are still lacking. "We will need to ramp up investment in this area. We will need to recruit and retain more skilled workers. All these are significant challenges, not easy to resolve quickly, but we are determined to overcome them."
He added: "We will need time to turn around and then stabilise the situation."
While this is being done, Singaporeans should be "mentally prepared" for disruptions, said Mr Khaw, noting that even the MTR faces a major disruption on average once a month.
"We will be very disappointed when it happens, but we shall stand up, lick our wounds, examine the causes, and work very hard to prevent a repeat," he wrote in the blog.
"I hope Singaporeans will cheer us along, like we cheer our athletes even when they lose. Indeed, more than the spectators, our athletes are the most disappointed with themselves when they do not perform to expectations.
"Likewise, I am sure that every disruption hurts our maintenance crew. They told me so when I visited them. Let’s stand with them and boost their morale. It is not SMRT’s or SBST’s name that is at stake; it is Singapore’s reputation. How every one of us responds to a breakdown makes a difference.
"We are now behind Hong Kong MTR, but we shall catch up."
