While we’ve all been frustrated and dismayed at the performance of our MRT trains in recent months, weeks and days, for those of us who rely on public transport to get around, it looks like we have no choice but to suck it up (insert sad face emoji).
Lee Ling Wee, CEO of SMRT Corp, has now chipped in with a blog post on why the signalling system must be tested during peak hours, at the same time asking for patience and understanding as they continue to fine tune the performance of the system. In other words, he wants to have his cake and eat it too.
You can read the full post here, but we’ll break down his essay to help you get the gist of the explanation.
- As a Brownfield project (projects done on existing lines), testing and checks would take years to complete if restricted to weekends and engineering hours (1:30am-4:30am), as compared to Greenfield projects (projects done on new lines).
- Teething issues are being sorted out, and together with the Land Transport Authority and system supplier Thales, operational workarounds and software issues are being fixed.
- Unlike the Circle Line incident in 2016, where the cause was unknown, these signalling trials are a result of a “planned and systematic approach”.
- Fixes take weeks to implement, and a software patch will be implemented in a few weeks.
- Comparison with other well-run systems is futile, because no two lines are the same — they are all fully customised to the unique local environment.
- Safety is paramount and won’t be compromised for greater efficiency, even if it means slower trains and potential delays (gasp!).
- SMRT welcomes all feedback from the public and it’s working hard to complete the renewal of the signalling system.
