SMRT vs Saw Phaik Hwa vs LTA vs Temasek vs Govt

[Kohliantye]

The pap has four years to rip off what they want. But Singaporeans must remember this in 2016

"Rip off". The mention of this word in corrupt-free Singapore send shivers into the spines of many.
Don't ever think that there will be any let-off. Investigators will become very busy.
This thing can become a very emotive issue too.
It will set into motion many laws under the Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.
People will demand full and transparent investigations.
There will be witch-hunts just like the Simon Weisenthal Foundation's Nazi War Jewish Genocide criminal hunters.
There will be no let up. Look what has happened in Indonesia (Suharto), Phillippines (Marcos, Estrada) and now "poor" little Arroyo.
Many people will have to face the music if there is a cover-up.
Hence it would be wise for those in authority and those with powers to interrogate and investigate to be clean and efficient, respectively.

 

[kingrant]

I thot the bolded text deserved a re-mention. See the nonsense that spouts from her mouth? We shld be spared her candour. Unable to ascertain the cause, and yet she can say they are unrelated! And we paid her millions??

Free bridging buses is a service recovery measure. How did it become a compensation? And she was from where? 20 yrs in service?

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.

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.

 

[kingrant]

Yes, that is telling. Her head will roll otw she'll be a liability for the PAP in 2016. Better sacrifice her on the altar as scapegoat before another GRC goes down.

When Minister Lui made his comments, he directed them to the Chairman of the Board of SMRT.

 

[ChaoPappyPoodle]

She may be parachuted to another GLC or stat board. It helps to have friends in high places. She also has directorships in a couple of GLCs and stat boards at the moment. She is set for more than a lifetime.

 

[maja06]

Yes, that is telling. Her head will roll otw she'll be a liability for the PAP in 2016. Better sacrifice her on the altar as scapegoat before another GRC goes down.

She's the perfect sacrificial goat, being non-Singaporean and non-ex military.

 

[coolguy]

As you all can see from the way SMRT handle the situation, it is clear that she does not have the customer interest in mind at all.
The customer safety and interest should be on their top most priority when faced with an emergency crisis like this.
It is now questionable whether all the percautionary measures taken by SMRT to deal with in an event of an terrorist attack,
whether it is for the benefit of the SMRT system and infrastructure, or the customers?
In an event of an terrorist attack, which one will be the company top most priority?
The SMRT system cum infrastructure, or the customers?

 

[Boliao]

[*]Both rental and advertising are major revenue streams. Saw was recruited in 2002 via headhunters. At that time, she had no notable links to the establishment.

If I remember correctly, she is associated with Ho Ching and knew her before her role as SMRT CEO when she worked briefly for Ho. I also remember it was written that she was recruited by Ho despite being head hunted for it.

 

[red amoeba]

London is the first city in the world to have metro and they have century-old experience. And their system is definitely more lok-kok, esp the King Cross line, their tains & tunnels are so narrow and make so much noise...but at least they run.

and they shut down certain lines during weekends for maintenance - there is confusion, and given the complexity of the London tube, passengers are confused as well regarding alternative routes but there are signs posted around stations and there announcements on PA regarding this.

It helps that majority of the population reads / understands English - so, there isn't need to broadcast messages in different language. When I was there during Prince William's wedding (peak travel period), they shut down train service to Buckingham Palace / Westminister Abbey ...either for security or otherwise...which will be unacceptable in Singapore (imagine shutting down MRT during NDP or F1)

I am impressed by this slogan that was evident in London:

The problem with SMRT / LTA is that, as more MRT stations come online, they start withdrawing those bus services that run parallel / duplicate which makes passengers totally reliant on a functioning MRT. When something happens, there is no viable alternative. This is akin to no redundant system running.

 

[red amoeba]

Yes, that is telling. Her head will roll otw she'll be a liability for the PAP in 2016. Better sacrifice her on the altar as scapegoat before another GRC goes down.

For sure, she will be removed...after clearing up the mess...

 

[gohsanho]

The software part can be remedied by doing some adjustment of personnel, SOP protocol, etc. but the real problem is the hardware part. Our mrt system was designed and installed in the 80s it is not meant for todays' population. A good analogy is a family of four with a two litre engine car. When the family grow to 7 or 8 and still using the same car then we can expect the car to breakdown soon and very often. The suspension will breakdown, the wheel bearing and tyres will wear faster, there will be less time for maintenance as the usage will go up, etc. The family will need to upgrade to a MPV which is not the case for our mrt system. Our population policy have screw up big time and is causing all sort of problems. These mrt breakdowns is just the tip of the iceberg, expect more unpleasant things to happen.

 

[kingrant]

Contrary to what you say, hardware part is the easier part. Hardware is mere engineering and SMRT has plenty of it at the engineer and technician levels. Soft skills are difficult to train people for. They need people who have good social situational leadership skills. SOPs are for repeated tasks which are great for engineering problems but service quality under different constantly changing situations require people who can adapt to people's needs and attend to them and not just follow SOPs.

People are not unreasonable, they expect breakdowns, mech failures etc but beside quietly fixing the problem, if one can explain, assure, and comfort and give advice where to get help. people will tend to get over the inconvenience or even forget about their situation more quickly or feel less anger.

How often e.g. when you are late for an appt, if you call the other party to explain, you will more likely to be forgiven and sympathised with as it allows the other side to make alternative arrangements or do something else while waiting, than to fume and rage because you were silent and non-communicative. You will even come across as insensitive and inconsiderate.

The software part can be remedied by doing some adjustment of personnel, SOP protocol, etc. but the real problem is the hardware part.

 

[red amoeba]

they shld take a leaf of the book from Taiwan & Japan...immediately after incident, the CEO will appear in front of cameras to apologise.

Not like this CEO, wait till next day...and still cannot give reasons / explanations.

Crisis management in local companies, unfortunately is sorely lacking.

it is understandable that at instance of crisis happening, there is no information / information incomplete...but first order is to ensure order and assure public that whatever is being done.

flashback to SQ 006 incident, the way SIA handled the situation (Rick Clements hugging an anguish NOK was after, applauded).

 

[gohsanho]

Contrary to what you say, hardware part is the easier part. Hardware is mere engineering and SMRT has plenty of it at the engineer and technician levels.

The hardware part in term of capacity can not be easily solved. The number of engineers and technician will not solve overcrowding. The train and station are for example design for six car-carriage and can not be changed. The signal system can be improved to increase the frequency of trains but that will take many years while the commuters have to bear the uncomfortable over-crowding. The new lines that are supposely able to overcome overcrowding will only come on stream in many years. The population should not have increased without the proportional increase in capacity.

 

[kingrant]

What is sufficient today may again not be enough 5 years on. Still these are technical and not human problems. Stations berth and length can be increased. Train carriages can be increased. It is a matter of political will. Can you stand the delays? How to handle people's expectations? These are HR/soft skills.

The hardware part in term of capacity can not be easily solved. The number of engineers and technician will not solve overcrowding. The train and station are for example design for six car-carriage and can not be changed. The signal system can be improved to increase the frequency of trains but that will take many years while the commuters have to bear the uncomfortable over-crowding. The new lines that are supposely able to overcome overcrowding will only come on stream in many years. The population should not have increased without the proportional increase in capacity.

 

[lockeliberal]

Dear King

Techincal realities and costs meet politics. How do u increase a station length on an underground network ? Train length is a function of station length and if they do not match frequency suffers. Signalling upgrades are expensive but. Better.

Locke

What is sufficient today may again not be enough 5 years on. Still these are technical and not human problems. Stations berth and length can be increased. Train carriages can be increased. It is a matter of political will. Can you stand the delays? How to handle people's expectations? These are HR/soft skills.

 

[kingrant]

Every station has to be designed to allow for capacity increases. I believe our stations have reserves but it is debatable if we need to increase it now. I have lived in Montreal for sometime, and their metro is definitely more aged than ours, still I saw their stations all have at least 2-3 more car lengths which can be accommodated. Their trains are also packed like sardines at peak hrs but off-peak they are usually half empty.

It is not impossible to extend. More drilling, more construction, shuttling services pending construction. It's how you sell the delay when the crunch comes.

It's true there have been overcrowding here too but it's not for the whole day long. I dont see the problem is one of capacity yet. There can be improvements in signalling as you mentioned which would allow trains to increase frequency.

Another thing is I find the doors take longer to open and close. Those I saw at Montreal open and close much sooner when the train has stopped. I guess here the nanny mindset is still at play. That may be tweaked to shorten times in stations.

Dear King

Techincal realities and costs meet politics. How do u increase a station length on an underground network ? Train length is a function of station length and if they do not match frequency suffers. Signalling upgrades are expensive but. Better.

Locke

 

[sense]

 

[scroobal]

Very astute comments. The reference to the Chairman was telling with no mention of the CEO. This indeed is massive.

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.

 

[Fook Seng]

The hardware part in term of capacity can not be easily solved. The number of engineers and technician will not solve overcrowding. The train and station are for example design for six car-carriage and can not be changed. The signal system can be improved to increase the frequency of trains but that will take many years while the commuters have to bear the uncomfortable over-crowding. The new lines that are supposely able to overcome overcrowding will only come on stream in many years. The population should not have increased without the proportional increase in capacity.

I have seen some lines in overseas networks increase their maximum capacity by two more coaches, one in front and the other at the back. You board and disembark o

 

[Fook Seng]

I have seen some lines in overseas networks increase their maximum capacity by two more coaches, one in front and the other at the back. You board and disembark o

You board and disembark on the second coach and on the second last coach. In this way, the capacity can be increased by about 33 %.