2 young lives lost

[SquareLife]

Originally Posted by skyleon

SMRT 'looking into' bus fare dispute with driver



Isabelle Liew

Jul 25, 2017 06:00 am



About 40 people were forced to get off an SMRT bus on Saturday when the driver refused to continue the journey after a fare dispute with a couple with children.

The next day, SMRT apologised on Facebook for the incident and assured the public that it took feedback seriously and was "looking into this matter".

SMRT was responding to a Facebook post on Saturday by Ms Fareen Salauddin, who had witnessed the incident on service 969 at a bus stop near Khatib MRT station.

She said the driver had problems communicating in English with the parents of a two-year-old girl and four-year-old boy.

After an argument, the driver refused to drive, forcing some 40 passengers to disembark, she told Shin Min Daily News.

Ms Fareen said he had earlier wanted to charge a fare for her niece but allowed the girl to ride for free after Ms Fareen pointed out that her niece is less than 0.9m tall.

TransitLink's website states that children under seven and not taller than 0.9m may travel for free if accompanied by an adult.

When the parents boarded the bus later, the driver told them to pay for their children as well, Ms Fareen said.

She told Shin Min: "When they asked how much the fares were, the driver only said that his English wasn't good. They didn't know how much to pay, and no one came forward to help translate."

OFFER

But another passenger, Mr Jian Wei, commenting on SMRT's Facebook post, said when the argument started, a passenger had offered to translate.

But the father told the passenger not to do it as it was the driver's job to communicate with him.

SMRT said in its post that all its bus captains attend English classes to improve their ability to understand and converse in the language.

"They are also encouraged to seek help from other passengers if they do encounter communication difficulties. So please help where you can," it added.


continue reading here : http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/smr...dispute-driver

So how much is SMRT going to pay us for translating?

[SiaSuay]

Dear PM Lee of Singapore . Can you please set up a Ministral Committee and or Committee of Inquiry to look into it as to why does your mrt system have so many frequent breakdowns ? The commuters would be greatly appreciative if you and your government can resolve this urgent issue . Thank you sir .

[wantanbeehoon]

Originally Posted by SquareLife

So how much is SMRT going to pay us for translating?

They know damn bloody well that Ah Tiong cannot communicate in English ...

[SiaSuay]

Originally Posted by wantanbeehoon

They know damn bloody well that Ah Tiong cannot communicate in English ...

They should sent all frontline foreign staffs to attend at least Basic Singlish course .

[srijaya]

Originally Posted by SiaSuay

They should sent all frontline foreign staffs to attend at least Basic Singlish course .

Attend what fark course also useless lah, those Tiongs die die also won't speak English/Singlish/whateverglish

[skyleon]

SMRT ordered to check all service maintenance doors after disruptions



Ronald LohNg Keng Gene


Jul 26, 2017 06:00 am


The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has ordered rail operator SMRT to check all its service maintenance doors after one came loose and disrupted train services on the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) from about 6am until noon yesterday.

At 11.30am, train services between Queenstown and Bugis MRT stations on the East-West Line were halted for 30 minutes as traction power had to be switched off to enable engineers to access the tracks safely to fix the problem.

Normal train service resumed progressively after the door was removed at noon.

Yesterday's incident was the ninth reported delay affecting the train system this month, leaving transport experts concerned about the recent spate of faults.

Rail operator SMRT said in a statement on Facebook at 11.15am that the affected MRT lines had experienced intermittent traction power tripping across the network.

The fault was traced to a loosened service maintenance door next to the tracks in the tunnel near Tiong Bahru station, said the LTA in a statement.

The Straits Times understands the intermittent power trips were caused by a sliding door separating the east and westbound tunnels that had become dislodged from its roller rail.

"We decided to remove the door as it was faster than repairing it. This allowed train services to resume as quickly as possible," an LTA spokesman told ST.

LTA is investigating the incident, which was not related to ongoing tests of the new signalling system on the NSL that began on May 29.


continue reading here : http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/smr...er-disruptions

[skyleon]

Frequent MRT disruptions a concern: experts



Ronald Loh
Reporter


Jul 26, 2017 06:00 am


Transport experts have raised concerns over the frequent delays caused by faults in the rail network, with nine occurring this month alone.

National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der Horng noted that SMRT was in the midst of testing its new signalling system, which allows trains to run more frequently and without human interference, on the North-South Line.

It is also reconfiguring its power supply system from a decentralised source to a centralised one, he said, but added that the faults could have been caused by other factors such as human oversight.

"To a certain extent, there would be teething issues caused by the upgrading.

"But it is also unfortunate there are other faults, which seem unrelated, happening at the same time," Dr Lee said.

"All in all, a well-maintained system would not have all these kinds of problems."

Dr Zhou Yi, deputy chairman of The Institution of Engineers' rail and transportation technical committee, said train disruptions could also be attributed to an increase in ridership as well as an ageing infrastructure.

He said the opening of new lines should help disperse and distribute train loads so commuters can look forward to a more reliable transport system.

Dr Andrew Ng, an assistant professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology, said: "Like many other commuters, I am worried such faults are becoming an almost daily occurrence.

"But I believe that our railway system would be more reliable and efficient after this transition period from the legacy (system) to the new signalling system, along with proper condition monitoring and intervention."

Yesterday's breakdown in services was the ninth this month.

Here are the others, with two on July 20:

JULY 24

A door obstruction at Newton station causes delays on the North-South Line during evening peak hours.

JULY 20

Temporary clamps that came loose near Choa Chu Kang station on the North-South Line cause delays of about 10 minutes at 5.30pm. A signalling fault later causes trains to stop in between stations for more than 15 minutes on the Circle Line around 10pm.

JULY 19

A train fault near Newton station affects service on the North-South Line.

JULY 12

A train fault and a track circuit fault cause delays of about two hours in the morning on the east-bound stretch from Joo Koon to Clementi stations.

JULY 10

A signalling fault causes delays between Queenstown and Bugis stations from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

JULY 7

A train fault causes a 30-minute morning delay between Woodlands and Jurong East stations.

JULY 5

A train fault causes a 30 minute evening delay on the East-West Line


continue reading here : http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/fre...oncern-experts


Such world class mrt transport system . Will Mr Khaw please resign and take full responsibility ?

[skyleon]

Rail reliability has improved but Khaw sets new higher standards


By Faris Mokhtar

Published: 12:42 PM, July 27, 2017

Updated: 1:16 PM, July 27, 2017



SINGAPORE — Rail operators have loftier rail reliability standards to live up to by 2020, with Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan setting a new target for rail reliability in 2020 to improve seven times from 2015’s standards.

The new 2020 target is 1 million train-km, measured as mean kilometres between failure (MKBF) or average distance trains can travel before hitting delays of more than five minutes.

Speaking at the Fourth Joint Forum on Infrastructure Maintenance on Thursday (July 27), Mr Khaw, who is also the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, noted that overall train frequency between delays of more than five minutes have risen from 133,000km in 2015 to nearly 400,000km as of the first half of this year, based on preliminary data which exclude the delays due to testing of the new signalling system. That is an improvement of nearly three times.

Rail operators have also exceeded this year’s target of 300,000 train-km, and are on track to meet the 400,000 train-km target next year and 800,000 train-km by 2020. In addition, the number of major delays has also gone down from 10 in the first half of 2016 to three over the same period this year.

While this is a “satisfactory outcome”, the minister said: “This is not yet the steady state we are hoping for, but versus what we had inherited two years ago, I think this is maybe C+. Next year we should go for B. The following year, certainly before election, must be an A.”

But he also said the initial target of 800,000 train-km by 2020 was set last year, before Taipei Metro, regarded as the world’s best rail system, “upped the game” to achieve 1 million train-km last year. So referencing the “best in class performance”, he decided to increase Singapore’s 2020 rail reliability target as well.

Touching on the re-signalling project on the North-South Line (NSL), Mr Khaw implored commuters to be patient as train delays are bound to occur as engineers sort out the teething problems that will surface due to the re-signalling work that is being carried out.

While several delays and congestion did emerge as expected, he said this allowed engineers to fix the glitches before the new system is properly launched.

“Overall, the experience has actually been less traumatic than what we had feared,” he added.


continue reading here : http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...gher-standards



Sure or not Mr Khaw rail reliability got improvement ? Now this is what I call FAKE NEWS.

[skyleon]

How can MRT reliability improved 3 times, when there are so many breakdowns?

Posted on 2017-07-27 by Leong Sze Hian



I refer to the article “Khaw Boon Wan sets new rail network reliability target as MRT becomes three times as dependable as in 2015” (Straits Times, Jul 27).

Ownself delude ownself?

The article writes, “The MRT system’s reliability has improved by three times since Mr Khaw Boon Wan moved to the Transport Ministry in 2015, but the minister wants to raise the bar much higher.


Speaking at the fourth joint forum on infrastructure maintenance organised by SMRT on Thursday (July 26), the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport said that in 2015 – the year he replaced Mr Lui Tuck Yew at the ministry, Singapore’s MRT trains travelled an average of 133,000km between delays of more than five minutes.

This is known as mean km between failure (MKBF)."

Ownself exclude ownself?

It was noted by Mr Khaw that the MKBF "has happily gone up to nearly 400,000 (393,000) train-km” in the first half of this year (2017) based on preliminary data, and had also excluded delays arising from the testing of a new signalling system on the North-South line.

The minister noted that all five lines had improved, with the star performer being the North-East line, which clocked nearly 1 million (978,000) train-km between failures.

“This is a satisfactory outcome, against our targets of 300,000 MKBF this year, 400,000 MKBF next year and 800,000 train-km by 2020,” Mr Khaw said, adding that he set these targets last year against the best-in-class Taipei Metro, which clocked 800,000 MKBF.

But by excluding the “delays arising from the testing of a new signalling system, we have conveniently evaded all the frequent and extensive delays that have happened recently. Does the Taipei Metro exclude delays due to certain reasons like what we are now doing in Singapore?

Ownself praise ownself?

Noting that the Taipei Metro has improved further by achieving 1 million MKBF, Mr Khaw declared that he will be upping their 2020 target from 800,000 to 1,000,000 train-km. Noting that LTA (Land Transport Authority) and the operators are working closely towards this target.



continue reading here : https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/201...ny-breakdowns/

[DarkPresto]

Originally Posted by skyleon

Rail reliability has improved but Khaw sets new higher standards


By Faris Mokhtar

Published: 12:42 PM, July 27, 2017

Updated: 1:16 PM, July 27, 2017



SINGAPORE — Rail operators have loftier rail reliability standards to live up to by 2020, with Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan setting a new target for rail reliability in 2020 to improve seven times from 2015’s standards.

The new 2020 target is 1 million train-km, measured as mean kilometres between failure (MKBF) or average distance trains can travel before hitting delays of more than five minutes.

Speaking at the Fourth Joint Forum on Infrastructure Maintenance on Thursday (July 27), Mr Khaw, who is also the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, noted that overall train frequency between delays of more than five minutes have risen from 133,000km in 2015 to nearly 400,000km as of the first half of this year, based on preliminary data which exclude the delays due to testing of the new signalling system. That is an improvement of nearly three times.

Rail operators have also exceeded this year’s target of 300,000 train-km, and are on track to meet the 400,000 train-km target next year and 800,000 train-km by 2020. In addition, the number of major delays has also gone down from 10 in the first half of 2016 to three over the same period this year.

While this is a “satisfactory outcome”, the minister said: “This is not yet the steady state we are hoping for, but versus what we had inherited two years ago, I think this is maybe C+. Next year we should go for B. The following year, certainly before election, must be an A.”

But he also said the initial target of 800,000 train-km by 2020 was set last year, before Taipei Metro, regarded as the world’s best rail system, “upped the game” to achieve 1 million train-km last year. So referencing the “best in class performance”, he decided to increase Singapore’s 2020 rail reliability target as well.

Touching on the re-signalling project on the North-South Line (NSL), Mr Khaw implored commuters to be patient as train delays are bound to occur as engineers sort out the teething problems that will surface due to the re-signalling work that is being carried out.

While several delays and congestion did emerge as expected, he said this allowed engineers to fix the glitches before the new system is properly launched.

“Overall, the experience has actually been less traumatic than what we had feared,” he added.


continue reading here : http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...gher-standards



Sure or not Mr Khaw rail reliability got improvement ? Now this is what I call FAKE NEWS.

Come I help Khaw set higher standards - for every delay, cannot have fare increase for a year ..... dare to take this challenge?

[skyleon]

Back-to-back signalling faults disrupt Downtown, North-South Lines


Early morning commuters on Friday (Aug 18) were hit by twin disruptions on the train network, as signalling faults disrupted the entire Downtown Line (DTL) for about 35 minutes and caused major delays on the North-South Line (NSL). TODAY file photo
Published: 6:49 AM, August 18, 2017

Updated: 7:40 AM, August 18, 2017



SINGAPORE — Early morning commuters on Friday (Aug 18) were hit by twin disruptions on the train network, as signalling faults disrupted the entire Downtown Line (DTL) for about 35 minutes and caused major delays on the North-South Line (NSL).

Friday morning's disruptions came hours after Thursday evening's peak-hour train delay on the NSL due to a signalling fault near Ang Mo Kio station that took about two hours to clear.

Transport operator SMRT first tweeted about the NSL delay at 6.29am, warning commuters of a 30 minutes delay between Sembawang and Marina South Pier both bounds. Minutes later, the delay worsened to 45 minutes.

At 6.38am, SMRT advised commuters to take other MRT lines or seek alternative transport towards the city.

However, service on the entire DTL went down at about the same time. SBS Transit said in a tweet at 6.25am that there was no DTL service due to a signalling fault.


continue reading here : http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...th-line-friday


CLAP CLAP CLAP . WELL DONE . SUCH WORLD CLASS TRANSPORT SYSTEM . ALWAYS BREAKDOWN

[skyleon]

Signalling fault delays North-South Line for two hours



ZHAKI ABdULLAH, THE STRAITS TIMES


Aug 18, 2017 06:00 am



Commuters travelling on the North-South Line yesterday were stranded after a signalling fault on the 30-year-old line caused delays for two hours during the evening peak period.

At 6.18pm, SMRT first cautioned commuters to expect an additional 20 minutes' travelling time between Yishun and Marina South Pier stations due to a fault with the new signalling system near Ang Mo Kio station.

Nearly half-an-hour later, it advised commuters to add 25 minutes to their journeys.

This was further increased to 40 minutes at 7pm.

Mr Lim Chia Wei, 21, was on his way from Novena to Bishan when the train stopped at Braddell station for 15 minutes.

The student added that it was "extremely crowded" at the station when he got there.

Though the delays were said to be on the 16-station stretch between Yishun and Marina South Pier, commuters complained on social media of delays affecting the entire line.

Photos posted online showed packed train platforms at the Jurong East interchange station, which is at the other end of the line from Marina South Pier.

Free bus services were provided between Marina South Pier and Ang Mo Kio in both directions during the delays.

On its Facebook page, SMRT said a signalling unit along the tracks near Ang Mo Kio station experienced a fault around 5.35pm yesterday.

Train services were back to normal at 8.15pm.

SMRT apologised for the "difficult evening for (its) affected commuters".

Full-day tests of the new signalling system on the North-South Line, which will allow trains to run closer together, began in May. Since then, there have been numerous delays on the line.

The Land Transport Authority and SMRT have said full-day tests of the signalling system on weekdays "cannot be avoided".


continue reading here : http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/sig...line-two-hours


How many more tests you need to do ?

[LukasStar]

Yes Singapore's MRT system is always so good.

[No933MW]

Originally Posted by LukasStar

Yes Singapore's MRT system is always so good.

Best in Sg, JB .... even in Batam?

[skyleon]

Back-to-back signalling faults disrupt Downtown, North-South Lines


Early morning commuters on Friday (Aug 18) were hit by twin disruptions on the train network, as signalling faults disrupted the entire Downtown Line (DTL) for about 35 minutes and caused major delays on the North-South Line (NSL). Photo: Esther Leong



Published: 6:49 AM, August 18, 2017

Updated: 2:25 PM, August 18, 2017



SINGAPORE — Signalling faults caused major delays on the North-South Line (NSL) and disrupted the entire Downtown Line (DTL) for a period on Friday (Aug 18) morning, frustrating thousands of commuters heading to work and students trying to reach their school on time for their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) oral exams.

The twin disruptions, which came after Thursday evening's peak-hour train delay on the NSL due to a signalling fault near Ang Mo Kio station, lasted for about three hours. Regular services resumed at 9am and 9.15am respectively on the DTL and NSL.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) told students who were late for the oral exams not to worry as arrangements had been made for those who arrived late, and that they did not need to pick up excuse letters at the affected train stations.

This came as staff at some MRT stations were seen giving out "travel chits" to students to indicate the timings which they had entered and exited stations affected by the train delays on Friday morning.

Transport operator SMRT first tweeted about the NSL delay at 6.29am, warning commuters of a 30 minutes delay between Sembawang and Marina South Pier both bounds. Minutes later, the delay worsened to 45 minutes.

At 6.38am, SMRT advised commuters to take other MRT lines or seek alternative transport towards the city.

However, service on the entire DTL went down at about the same time. SBS Transit said in a tweet at 6.25am that there was no DTL service due to a signalling fault.

SBS Transit explained in a statement that its first train was delayed by a signalling fault and could not be launched automatically from the depot to the Downtown Line.

Trains had to be manually driven, and the first train only started service at 5.37am at DT1 Bukit Panjang Station, seven minutes later than scheduled.


continue reading here : http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...th-line-friday


New line also affected . So how Mr Khaw ???