Unlucky man stuck twice in MRT tunnel
Insurance agent lost business opportunities to last Thursday's and Saturday's MRT breakdowns. -TNP
Wed, Dec 21, 2011
The New Paper
Above: Stranded commuters on the North-South MRT line had to walk through the tunnel during the evening rush hour on Thursday.
By Pearly Tan
Just how unlucky can one man get?
A 52-year-old insurance agent, who gave his name only as Mr Tong, ended up stuck inside an MRT tunnel not once, but twice.
He was on the North-South line when it broke down on Thursday evening. And he ended up being late for a meeting and lost a business opportunity.
The next day, he decided to avoid taking the MRT in case the technical problems had yet to be completely resolved.
But on Saturday morning, he decided to give it another try.
When the train broke down that morning, he lost yet another potential client.
SO TIRED
Said a weary Mr Tong: "I'm so tired of the breakdowns. I won't take the MRT any more."
Mr Tong first boarded the train on Thursday at City Hall MRT station to go for a meeting to discuss the insurance policies he was selling.
Just minutes later, the train came to a sudden stop and electricity was cut off soon after.
He said: "There was crying and everyone was panicking. It was pitch black, and we could not see a thing."
About 4,000 people were stuck on four trains for up to 40 minutes.
About 1,000 passengers on a train stranded between City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut had to walk about 150m through a dark tunnel to reach the safety of Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.
Mr Tong said he felt fear as people began pushing and shoving as they walked. He also said that his shirt was torn after it was caught on a sharp object along the side of the train tunnel.
He added that he thought it was an unfortunate incident, but decided to stay away from the MRT service on Friday in case the technical faults had yet to be fully resolved.
Then, on Saturday morning, Mr Tong boarded the train at Ang Mo Kio MRT station to make his way to a business meeting in the City Hall area.
FEARS CONFIRMED
Everything went fine for about fifteen minutes until his fears were confirmed.
"Just after the train had pulled out of Orchard MRT station, things began going wrong," said Mr Tong.
"The electricity stopped and then the train stopped moving completely. At this point, I knew that history was going to repeat itself."
Though SMRT staff managed to get people out very quickly through the tunnel this time, he was still late for the appointment with a client.
Mr Tong said he lost yet another potential customer as the client was not there when he arrived.
When asked if there had been Internet connection available for him to inform them of his predicament, he said: "For what? Why should they understand? I was trying to close a deal and I was late."
And he said he has not been able to convince the client to set up another appointment.
When The New Paper contacted Mr Tong yesterday, he sounded dejected and repeatedly said that he was extremely upset with what had happened and just wanted to forget things.
He said: "I don't know how I will get around, but I am definitely going to stay away from the MRT." Another MRT passenger, Mr Ryan Goh, 38, also told TNP that he would go back to driving for the time being after yesterday's bad experience.
Mr Goh, who works in the aerospace industry, had arrived at Toa Payoh MRT station at about 10.30am to travel to City Hall to catch up with some friends from Sweden.
He said: "Train services were supposed to be up and running today by 10am. But when I got to the MRT station, the trains were not working and everyone was helpless and unhappy.
"I had wanted to meet my friends who were in transit in Singapore for half a day, but because of the disruption, I lost time with them."
He added that he managed to board a taxi only after almost 45 minutes.
"The series of MRT breakdowns is an inconvenience, especially when Singaporeans are encouraged to take public transport," said Mr Goh.
"Bus services are slowed down because MRT passengers are redirected, taxi fares have been raised and the roads remain congested.
"I will drive instead of taking public transport when I go to work tomorrow. If our public transportation system cannot be relied on, don't expect people to give up cars because punctuality is everything."
Another commuter, Miss Lynne Lee, 29, felt that while it was good that shuttle buses had been provided, Singapore cannot afford to let train breakdowns become the norm.
The marketing executive, who suffers from motion sickness, said: "If I wanted to take a bus, I would not have gone to take a train. I travel by train because bus rides, especially when there is a traffic jam, make me feel ill."
After being turned away at Ang Mo Kio MRT station at 10am, Miss Lee said she immediately contacted her boyfriend, who later took her to her workplace in Orchard.
She said: "There were no taxis available. I had no choice but to inconvenience someone else because of the inconvenience caused to me."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Insurance agent lost business opportunities to last Thursday's and Saturday's MRT breakdowns. -TNP
Wed, Dec 21, 2011
The New Paper
Above: Stranded commuters on the North-South MRT line had to walk through the tunnel during the evening rush hour on Thursday.
By Pearly Tan
Just how unlucky can one man get?
A 52-year-old insurance agent, who gave his name only as Mr Tong, ended up stuck inside an MRT tunnel not once, but twice.
He was on the North-South line when it broke down on Thursday evening. And he ended up being late for a meeting and lost a business opportunity.
The next day, he decided to avoid taking the MRT in case the technical problems had yet to be completely resolved.
But on Saturday morning, he decided to give it another try.
When the train broke down that morning, he lost yet another potential client.
SO TIRED
Said a weary Mr Tong: "I'm so tired of the breakdowns. I won't take the MRT any more."
Mr Tong first boarded the train on Thursday at City Hall MRT station to go for a meeting to discuss the insurance policies he was selling.
Just minutes later, the train came to a sudden stop and electricity was cut off soon after.
He said: "There was crying and everyone was panicking. It was pitch black, and we could not see a thing."
About 4,000 people were stuck on four trains for up to 40 minutes.
About 1,000 passengers on a train stranded between City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut had to walk about 150m through a dark tunnel to reach the safety of Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.
Mr Tong said he felt fear as people began pushing and shoving as they walked. He also said that his shirt was torn after it was caught on a sharp object along the side of the train tunnel.
He added that he thought it was an unfortunate incident, but decided to stay away from the MRT service on Friday in case the technical faults had yet to be fully resolved.
Then, on Saturday morning, Mr Tong boarded the train at Ang Mo Kio MRT station to make his way to a business meeting in the City Hall area.
FEARS CONFIRMED
Everything went fine for about fifteen minutes until his fears were confirmed.
"Just after the train had pulled out of Orchard MRT station, things began going wrong," said Mr Tong.
"The electricity stopped and then the train stopped moving completely. At this point, I knew that history was going to repeat itself."
Though SMRT staff managed to get people out very quickly through the tunnel this time, he was still late for the appointment with a client.
Mr Tong said he lost yet another potential customer as the client was not there when he arrived.
When asked if there had been Internet connection available for him to inform them of his predicament, he said: "For what? Why should they understand? I was trying to close a deal and I was late."
And he said he has not been able to convince the client to set up another appointment.
When The New Paper contacted Mr Tong yesterday, he sounded dejected and repeatedly said that he was extremely upset with what had happened and just wanted to forget things.
He said: "I don't know how I will get around, but I am definitely going to stay away from the MRT." Another MRT passenger, Mr Ryan Goh, 38, also told TNP that he would go back to driving for the time being after yesterday's bad experience.
Mr Goh, who works in the aerospace industry, had arrived at Toa Payoh MRT station at about 10.30am to travel to City Hall to catch up with some friends from Sweden.
He said: "Train services were supposed to be up and running today by 10am. But when I got to the MRT station, the trains were not working and everyone was helpless and unhappy.
"I had wanted to meet my friends who were in transit in Singapore for half a day, but because of the disruption, I lost time with them."
He added that he managed to board a taxi only after almost 45 minutes.
"The series of MRT breakdowns is an inconvenience, especially when Singaporeans are encouraged to take public transport," said Mr Goh.
"Bus services are slowed down because MRT passengers are redirected, taxi fares have been raised and the roads remain congested.
"I will drive instead of taking public transport when I go to work tomorrow. If our public transportation system cannot be relied on, don't expect people to give up cars because punctuality is everything."
Another commuter, Miss Lynne Lee, 29, felt that while it was good that shuttle buses had been provided, Singapore cannot afford to let train breakdowns become the norm.
The marketing executive, who suffers from motion sickness, said: "If I wanted to take a bus, I would not have gone to take a train. I travel by train because bus rides, especially when there is a traffic jam, make me feel ill."
After being turned away at Ang Mo Kio MRT station at 10am, Miss Lee said she immediately contacted her boyfriend, who later took her to her workplace in Orchard.
She said: "There were no taxis available. I had no choice but to inconvenience someone else because of the inconvenience caused to me."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
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