Public transport fares should not be linked to service levels and disruptions: Chee Hong Tat

SINGAPORE: Public transport service levels and disruptions should be separate from how fares are set, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat on Tuesday (Oct 15). 

Speaking during a ministerial statement on the East-West Line train disruption that occurred from Sep 25 to Sep 30, Mr Chee responded to a question from Member of Parliament Gerald Giam (WP-Aljunied) about whether this incident and service levels can be taken into consideration in the Public Transport Council’s (PTC) fare review exercise. 

MPs filed 31 parliamentary questions on the disruption, which stopped train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT stations for six days. 

PTC previously studied whether fare reviews should be linked to service levels and disruptions, Mr Chee noted. 

The council decided not to adopt this approach because there are other measures in place to ensure that service standards are met, he added.

For service disruptions, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will establish causes and accountability, then mete out penalties where necessary, said the transport minister. 

When operators do not meet reliability targets, they also do not receive payments under the government's incentive schemes. 

The annual fare review exercise ensures that fares keep pace with changes in operating costs so that the public transport system stays financially sustainable, said Mr Chee, adding that the council follows a fare formula. 

For example, the maximum increase allowed this year was 18.9 per cent, due to the 15.6 percentage points carried over from last year. PTC, however, decided to defer most of this and raise fares by 6 per cent to ensure affordability, said the transport minister. 

“If our fares are not adjusted to reflect rising operating costs, the persistent shortfall would have a chronic impact on service quality and reliability over time,” he added. 

“Or if we want to continue topping up the shortfall via government subsidies, it means that taxpayers will have to foot a higher bill.” 

Mr Chee also responded to multiple questions about how the costs of the disruption will be covered.

Regardless of the investigation outcome, SMRT will bear the costs of the free bridging buses and regular bus services, the foregone fare revenue during the disruption and the repair works, he said. 

This requirement applies to both rail operators – SMRT and SBS Transit – if they encounter disruptions along their respective train lines, he noted. 

A lot more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/east-west-line-train-disruption-chee-hong-tat-4678956

According to a Redditor, there was another train fault today:

https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/1g0wx7n/detrained_at_city_hall/

EWL services resume after delays caused by stalled train near Tiong Bahru MRT station

SINGAPORE – Train commuters on a section of the East-West Line were delayed on Oct 10, after a train broke down near the Tiong Bahru station.

A first-generation westbound Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train had stalled at about 12.30pm, and all the passengers safely disembarked at the Outram Park station, SMRT said in a Facebook post on Oct 10.

The operator said at 1.14pm that the fault was cleared, and train services were being restored.

SMRT had said earlier on Facebook that commuters had to add 25 minutes to their travel time from Outram Park to Queenstown stations. They were also to add 20 minutes when travelling from Queenstown to Bugis stations.

Free regular bus services were provided between the Outram Park and Queenstown stations.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to your commute,” said SMRT.

Project manager Norman Goh, 46, who boarded the train at the Outram Park station, said the train stopped abruptly when it was travelling towards the Tiong Bahru station.

“Strangely, the train was tilted when it stopped moving,” said Mr Goh, who was with his wheelchair-bound father.

He added that the train then travelled back to the Outram Park station.

Other commuters The Straits Times spoke to said they did not realise that there was a train disruption, but noticed that the trains took longer to arrive at their stations.

One of them, who gave her name only as Ms Farhana, said she was worried about being late for work. She had left the office at lunchtime and had planned to work from home for the rest of the day.

The 24-year-old, who works in the financial services industry, said she waited for about 10 minutes for a train from Outram Park to Tiong Bahru.

Train services on another section of the EWL were disrupted for six days after a faulty train damaged track equipment on Sept 25.

The faulty train was also a first-generation KHI train, with the Land Transport Authority saying on the same day that both the authority and SMRT would do a thorough check on these trains overnight, before they were put into service the next day.

The earlier disruption affected about 2.6 million commuters, including some students who were late for their examinations.

Student Thahira Ariska said on Oct 10 she waited for about 10 minutes for a train from her home in Boon Lay to Outram Park.

The 16-year-old said she had to take the bridging buses whenever she needed to travel towards the east during the earlier disruption, and had to leave home an hour earlier.

She said: “It’s a bit disappointing that this is happening, because I thought the train was back to normal.”

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/train-fault-causes-25-minute-delay-from-outram-park-to-queenstown-mrt-stations-on-ewl

East-West Line disruption: Investigations underway, LTA to appoint expert advisory panel to review findings

SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has begun a probe into the six-day disruption of train services on the East-West Line between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations.

The investigations are expected to be completed in a few months, said LTA on Wednesday (Oct 2), a day after train services resumed.

The findings, to be made public, will be reviewed by a panel made up of six experts.

Investigations will be conducted across several areas.

"First, we will investigate the root cause of the axle box failure. LTA’s investigations will include a forensic study into the nature of the axle box failure, and identify any other potential contributory factors that led to the incident," said the authority.

It will also look into the procedures involving fault detection and incident handling, and determine if appropriate actions were taken.

Finally, LTA will review the service recovery and disruption mitigation effort, to "ascertain the timeliness and comprehensiveness of the responses taken" by train operator SMRT. 

The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) will also carry out an independent safety investigation on the disruption, said the Ministry of Transport.

To support its investigations, LTA will appoint an Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) to review the findings and advise on technical matters.

The panel will be chaired by Mr Malcolm Dobell, former head of train systems for London Underground, and comprises five other local and overseas experts:

• Dr Tony Lee and Mr Chen Chao, both of whom have extensive expertise in rail operations and maintenance;

• Mr Chew Tai Chong, who has expertise in rail system engineering and train design

• Professor Gan Hiong Yap, who has expertise in railway engineering

• Professor Manoj Gupta, an expert in material science with a background in mechanical engineering

In a Facebook post, SMRT said it will also review the incident and has established a committee to do so, in accordance with its internal policy.

The committee will be chaired by SMRT independent board member and former chief defence scientist, Mr Quek Gim Pew. Another independent board member, Mr Ng Chin Hwee, who is also the former CEO of SIA Engineering Company, will serve as deputy chairman.

The committee will also include independent panel members, added SMRT.

The disruption began on the morning of Sep 25 after a faulty train caused a power trip and damage to the track and other equipment.

A defective component known as an axle box had dropped from the train onto the tracks, causing a bogie - or an undercarriage with wheels - to come off the running rail between Dover and Clementi stations.

This resulted in extensive damage to the tracks and other equipment. Engineers also found damage to power cables, the third rail that supplies power and three machines used to divert trains to different tracks.

Full restoration of services, initially planned for the following Monday, had to be pushed back by a day after new cracks appeared on repaired rail segments during stress tests.

The 12 new cracks came on top of the 34 that had first developed along a 1.6km stretch between Dover and Clementi MRT stations. 

For almost a week, MRT services were disrupted between nine stations from Boon Lay to Queenstown, with the stretch between Jurong East and Buona Vista the most severely affected.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mrt-east-west-line-disruption-lta-investigation-4654356

MRT TEL train fault between Woodlands North & Lentor, free regular bus service activated

On Oct.1 , the Thomson-East Coast line experienced a train fault, reported by SMRT's social media at 5:11pm.

The fault resulted in a shuttle train service being made available between Woodlands North and Woodlands South, as well as between Woodlands South and Lentor at 5:11pm on Oct. 1.

At the time of writing, provisory service is available between Lentor and Bayshore.

SMRT is also providing a free regular bus service between Woodlands North and Lentor.

At 4:56pm on Oct. 1, SMRT reported that trains moving from Woodlands North towards Lentor were moving slower, cautioning riders to expect an additional 10 minutes of travel time.

East-West Line MRT services to fully resume on Oct 1; westbound trains to run at slower speeds

SINGAPORE – Train services along the East-West Line will resume fully on Oct 1 from the start of passenger service hours, six days after rail services between Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT stations were crippled because of severe track damage.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT said on the evening of Sept 30 that for safety reasons, a temporary speed limit of 40kmh – down from the usual 60kmh to 80kmh – will be imposed on westbound trains travelling on the repaired sections of the tracks.

The speed restriction will be in place until Oct 3, and is part of the standard process after rail replacements, they added.

“We advise commuters who are travelling to the west on the East-West Line to plan for an additional five minutes of travel time,” said LTA and SMRT.

They said their engineers and technicians had late on Sept 29 replaced 10 rail segments on which 12 new cracks were discovered.

Comprehensive testing of the track and trackside equipment was done for passenger safety.

These tests comprised functional and safety tests on the track, power supply and train signalling systems. The tracks were also subjected to load tests and ultrasound checks, followed by endurance runs using passenger trains loaded with sandbags to simulate a packed train.

The disruption has affected about 2.1 million passengers so far.

On the morning of Sept 30, LTA said that all affected rail segments, where 46 rail fractures such as cracks or chips were found – have been replaced. These spanned 2.55km of tracks. The third rail – which supplies power to trains – has also been restored.

SMRT also said its engineers had completed ultrasonic testing of welds, which refers to the inspection of welding by measuring the reflection of high-frequency sound waves.

SMRT had earlier aimed to restart services on Sept 30, but stress tests on Sept 28 found 12 cracks that were previously not visible on unreplaced segments of rail.

This meant that engineers had to replace another 10 segments of rail along the westbound track from Clementi to Ulu Pandan Depot, delaying the resumption of train services till Oct 1.

The faulty first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries train, which has been in service for more than 35 years, was travelling eastwards when it encountered a fault near Clementi station at about 9am on Sept 25.

It was later turned around near Queenstown station onto the westbound track, bound for Ulu Pandan Depot.

As it was being withdrawn, a defective component on the train’s undercarriage – known as an axle box – dropped onto the tracks near Dover station, and this caused the wheels of the undercarriage to run off the rail.

This wrought extensive damage to the tracks and trackside equipment as the train was being taken to the depot.

The damage triggered a power trip that stalled other trains and crippled services. The train also damaged three point machines, stretches of the third rail, as well as power cables and rail fasteners.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/east-west-line-mrt-services-to-fully-resume-on-oct-1-westbound-trains-will-run-at-slower-speeds

Even IKEA also suan siao ASS-MRT lol

Full resumption of MRT East-West Line delayed due to new cracks appearing during final checks

The MRT disruption on the East-West Line (EWL) is set to continue into a sixth day on Monday (Sept 30), after stress tests on Saturday night saw new cracks appearing.

Full train services are now targeted to be restored on Tuesday, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT in a joint briefing on Sunday.

Train services on the western side of EWL have been disrupted since Wednesday, after a faulty train caused a power trip.

The initial target was Monday, but during the stress tests, 12 new rail cracks appeared on unreplaced rail segments along a different 800m stretch between Clementi station and Ulu Pandan Depot.

LTA and SMRT said these 10 segments had been weakened by Wednesday morning's faulty train.

Therefore, an extra day will be needed for the segments to be replaced, before more stress tests tomorrow - including using trains filled with sandbags to simulate real-world conditions - to ensure the MRT's safety.

"We thank commuters for your patience as we work on restoring our MRT system," said Lam Sheau Kai, president of SMRT Trains.

"The safety of our staff and commuters is our topmost priority. We seek your understanding as we continue to work closely with LTA to restore train service."

Free regular and bridging bus services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations, as well as shuttle train services between Boon Lay and Jurong East stations, and between Queenstown and Buona Vista stations, remain available for commuters.

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat also shared the update on Facebook.

“Weather permitting, we expect the rail replacements to be completed tonight, followed by further testing to continue for most of tomorrow,” he added.

In a Facebook post on Saturday evening, SMRT had said that works on the damaged tracks and related equipment between Dover and Clementi stations were "fully completed".

The whole of Sunday would see functional and safety tests, including running trains on the tracks at different speeds.

The three damaged track point machines - which direct trains onto different tracks - and other rail equipment had been successfully recovered and passed functionality checks earlier on Friday.

Train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations have been suspended since Wednesday morning, after a component of a faulty train's wheel structure came off near Dover station while on its way to the depot.

This caused some wheels on the third carriage to drop out of position, which led to 34 rail breaks along a 1.6km stretch and a 150m stretch of track.

It also led to a power trip, disrupting train services from Boon Lay to Queenstown stations.

https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/full-resumption-mrt-east-west-line-delayed-due-new-cracks-appearing-during-final-checks

Train disruption on EWL to go into third day; LTA, SMRT aim to partially restore services on Sept 27

SINGAPORE – The disruption of train services along a stretch of the East-West Line between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations will continue into a third day, after checks found that a faulty train had caused extensive damage to tracks and trackside equipment on Sept 25.

Rail operator SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are aiming to partially restore services on Sept 27, and run a shuttle train service every 20 minutes along the affected stretch.

The second-longest rail disruption in Singapore to date affected about 358,000 passengers on Sept 25. Another 516,000 will have their journeys disrupted on Sept 26.

It was triggered by a first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries train, which encountered a fault at around 9am on Sept 25 and was withdrawn to Ulu Pandan Depot, said LTA and SMRT in a statement.

While en route to the depot, a defective axle box on the third carriage of the six-carriage train dropped onto the tracks near Dover station, causing one bogie to come off the running rail. This is the first time such an incident has happened.

A bogie is a structure below the train carriage with two sets of wheels. Each wheel set has two axle boxes attached to it.

With one bogie derailed, the train – which has been in service for more than 35 years – damaged the tracks and equipment on the tracks as it was being withdrawn from service.

This caused a power trip at around 9.25am, disrupting train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations.

Engineers found a total of 34 rail breaks, such as cracks or chips, along 1.6km of tracks between Clementi and Dover stations after overnight checks. The train also damaged three point machines that are used to divert the train to different tracks, stretches of the third rail which supplies power to trains, as well as power cables and rail clips.

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who is in China on a work trip, said engineers from LTA and SMRT have been working through the night to assess the damaged tracks and equipment and carry out repairs.

“As the damage is very extensive, they need more time to complete the repairs and then... carry out tests and checks to ensure commuter safety before fully restoring train services,” he said in a video message posted on Facebook.

Mr Chee added: “I would like to offer my sincere apologies to all our commuters for the disruption. Our workers are doing their best to safely restore train services as soon as possible.”

LTA and SMRT added that SMRT’s engineers and technicians have been working continuously since Sept 25 to restore and replace the damaged tracks and equipment.

The shuttle service between Jurong East and Buona Vista will ply only along the eastbound track, which is less severely damaged and requires fewer repairs than the westbound track.

Besides this service, SMRT will continue to operate shuttle train services between Buona Vista and Queenstown stations, and between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations.

About 80 double-deck buses have been deployed to provide free bridging services for affected commuters in both directions between Jurong East and Buona Vista.

In addition, 620 ground staff from LTA, SMRT, transport operators SBS Transit and Tower Transit as well as police officers helped manage the crowds during the morning peak period on Sept 26.

LTA and SMRT also carried out functionality checks on the axle boxes of all Kawasaki trains before these were put in service, and all passed the checks.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/train-disruption-on-ewl-to-go-into-third-day-lta-smrt-aim-to-partially-restore-services-on-sept-27

CHT has said sorlee:

Commuters cope with rain, longer journeys on day 2 of East-West Line MRT disruption

SINGAPORE: Many commuters face another challenging journey on Thursday (Sep 26), with train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations still unavailable as the disruption that started on Wednesday enters a second day.

In updates on Thursday morning, operator SMRT said that shuttle train services are available between Boon Lay and Jurong East, as well as between Queenstown and Buona Vista stations.

SMRT also said in its updates that free regular bus services are available between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations and that bridging bus services are available between Jurong East and Buona Vista.

The transport operator also encouraged commuters to look out for people with special needs.

In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) thanked commuters for their patience during the peak hour commute, which coincided with rain.

It added that it had been working closely with SMRT, SBS Transit and Tower Transit to provide bus bridging services and on-ground crowd management.

"We kindly urge commuters to remain patient and maintain orderliness while waiting for the buses as we continue working on our recovery efforts," said LTA.

A lot more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/east-west-line-mrt-disruption-jurong-east-buona-vista-day-2-4637211

“How does SMRT even justify its fare increment?” — Singaporeans stressed with train fault along East-West Line; teacher gets stuck onboard 1 day before PSLE

SINGAPORE: A teacher who had difficulties getting to work this morning (Sept 25) took to social media to vent some stress, especially since it was the last day before the PSLE English exams tomorrow for his Primary 6 students.

In a post on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page, Mr Sean Saravanan wrote that he was set to have a particularly tight schedule today.

He was already en route to his first class when, unfortunately, there was a train fault along the Green Line towards Jurong East, which meant Mr Saravanan got stuck between stations. Passengers on the train could not get out and had to wait.

The teacher also wrote that they were all eventually asked to alight at Dover Station. “Caught a GRAB taxi and now otw to lesson. Oh God!” he added.

It has been an exceptionally tough day for commuters on the East-West Line due to the disruption in services between the Boon Lay and Queenstown stations which began from 9:30 am.

When asked by a commenter why he was starting so late, Mr Saravanan mentioned there were no regular classes for PSLE takers from Monday through today, only remedial lessons.

The Independent Singapore has contacted Mr Saravanan for further comment.

“A KHI train that has been in service for over 35 years encountered a fault, emitting smoke while returning to Ulu Pandan Depot. This caused damage to the power cable and resulted in a power trip, disrupting train service between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations,” SMRT said.

The Boon Lay, Lakeside, Chinese Garden, Jurong East, Clementi, Dover, Buona Vista, Commonwealth and Queenstown stations were all affected by the train fault. People have been posting photos of long lines at MRT stations over social media all day.

The SMRT provided free regular bus and bridging bus services between Boon Lay and Queenstown.

The Land Transportation Authority said in a statement that train services would not be available on the EWL between the two stations for at least the rest of the day in both directions.

Two other disruptions to train services occurred on Sept 17 and 18, making today the third for this month.

An irate local Reddit user posted a photo of a crowded train.

“How does SMRT even justify its price increment? I assume by not acknowledging a delay has ever occurred. They’ve been saying ‘expect a 5-minute delay’ for the past 20 minutes now,” he wrote.

https://theindependent.sg/how-smrt-justify-their-price-increase-singaporeans-stressed-with-train-fault-along-east-west-line-teacher-gets-stuck-1-day-before-psle/

It's been confirmed.

www.straitstimes.com

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the Land Transport Authority will do a thorough investigation on the disruption. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The transport portfolio is without doubt a cursed one.....

PSLE begins tomorrow, P6 students you all song boh?

Enough is enough. VOTE THAT CHEE HONG OUT!

Alas, Sinkies should rejoice, because that means they could spend another whole day queuing - after all isn't this our national pastime? ;)