Did you know that your shiny, metallic helium balloons could disrupt MRT train services?

It is no laughing matter if your Minion or Minnie Mouse balloon flies up and away, and posters have recently been put up at stations on the North East Line (NEL) to remind commuters to hold on tightly to their balloons.

In the poster, train operator SBS Transit explains: "If (the balloons) get caught in the overhead power lines, they can cause a power trip and bring train services to a halt."

SBS Transit told The Straits Times that it decided to put up the posters two months ago after a train disruption happened on April 6 last year.

In that incident, train services on the NEL were disrupted for close to an hour in both directions between Farrer Park and Boon Keng stations due to a power trip.

Investigations by the Land Transport Authority showed that a passenger had accidentally released an aluminium foil helium balloon, which slipped into the tunnel at Boon Keng Station when the platform screen doors were opened.

The balloon then came into contact with an electrical insulator of the overhead catenary system - the power supply system installed on the ceiling of the train tunnel - and caused an electrical fault.

Said Professor Liew Ah Choy from the National University of Singapore's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department: "The aluminium foil is an electrical conductor and when it comes into contact with the live overhead wires a short circuit occurs. This would trigger the circuit breakers to trip, to prevent further damage to the electrical equipment."

Meanwhile, SBS Transit's senior vice-president of corporate communications, Ms Tammy Tan, told The Straits Times: "There has not been a recurrence of last year's April incident, but prevention is better than cure and the posters have been put up as a precautionary measure."

The 16-station NEL is the only MRT line here powered by overhead catenary systems instead of a power-supplying rail on the ground, so the posters are put up only in NEL stations.

But the posters can be hard to spot, as several stations have just two or three posters put up along the platform. A few commuters who frequent the Clarke Quay Station told The Straits Times they saw the posters only in recent weeks.

While incidents of balloons causing power trips are rare here, they happen more often in cities like Hong Kong, where there are signs telling people not to take balloons into train stations.

According to a Hong Kong magazine, the ban was started in 1996, when a Minnie Mouse balloon floated into a tunnel at rush hour. The resulting short circuit halted all trains between Admiralty and Quarry Bay - both interchange stations - for 1½ hours and affected 100,000 commuters.

goyshiyi@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Oct 16, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Train services on the East-West Line between Bugis and Tanah Merah stations will end up to half an hour earlier from Sunday to Thursday, starting from Nov 15 until the end of the year.

The early closure, involving nine stations, is to give operator SMRT more time to replace timber sleepers - used to hold the tracks in place - with more durable concrete ones.

Train services will run normally on Fridays and Saturdays as well as on the eve of public holidays.

This is the first phase of the early closures on the East-West Line, on which 92,000 timber sleepers will be replaced. The second phase, which will affect stations between Joo Koon and Jurong East and between Pasir Ris and Tanah Merah, will start early next year.

The final phase, affecting stations between Jurong East and Outram Park, should be completed by early 2017.

About 96,000 timber sleepers have been replaced with concrete sleepers on the North-South Line.

Sleeper replacement is necessary because the "rise in ridership and increased train services have added stress on our ageing infrastructure", SMRT said. This is part of the rail operator's maintenance regime. It will also replace the third-rail power system by 2017.

Sagging sections of the third rail, which supplies power to trains, were singled out as the main cause of two major breakdowns on the North-South Line in 2011.

Last month, SMRT was fined $5.4 million for a massive breakdown that crippled both the North-South and East-West MRT lines during the evening peak period on July 7.

This article was first published on Oct 17, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

SINGAPORE - 17 MRT stations along the North-South and East-West lines will be upgraded to improve commuting experience.

Under this plan, platform voids at 11 stations will be covered to create more standing space, while space at the other six stations will be freed up by repositioning the seats at the platforms. In addition, more seats will be provided for commuters waiting for trains.

Mr Chew Men Leong, Chief Executive of LTA said: "We are constantly looking at ways to upgrade existing stations even as we continue to build new MRT lines. Besides managing crowding at the platforms during peak hours, we are also looking to enhance our older MRT stations by creating up to 15 per cent additional space at some of the stations to make public transport a more pleasant experience for all commuters. This is part of the overall rejuvenation of our rail network."

Works are expected to commence in mid-2016 and end by 2018, with the majority being carried out during non-service hours to minimise inconvenience to commuters.

prabukm@sph.com.sg

List of 17 MRT stations to be upgraded

1. Ang Mo Kio

2. Bishan

3. Boon Lay

4. Buona Vista

5. Choa Chu Kang

6. City Hall

7. Clementi

8. Eunos

9. Jurong East

10. Khatib

11. Lakeside

12. Raffles Place

13. Pasir Ris

14. Pioneer

15. Tampines

16. Tanjong Pagar

17. Yishun

As early as 2018, commuters will have up to 15 per cent more space at 17 stations on the North-South and East-West MRT lines.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday that station platforms will be expanded in a number of ways, including covering some existing voids - such as those around stairs and escalators - and reorganising station furniture.

LTA chief executive Chew Men Leong said: "Besides managing crowding at the platforms during peak hours, we are looking to enhance our older MRT stations by creating up to 15 per cent additional space at some of the stations to make public transport a more pleasant experience for all commuters.

"This is part of the overall rejuvenation of our rail network."

Platform voids at 11 stations will be covered over to create more standing space, while space at the other six stations will be freed up by repositioning seats. In addition, more seats will be provided for commuters waiting for trains.

Works are expected to start in the middle of next year, with the majority being carried out during non-service hours to minimise inconvenience to commuters.

The 17 stations to be upgraded are: Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Boon Lay, Buona Vista, Choa Chu Kang, City Hall, Clementi, Eunos, Jurong East, Khatib, Lakeside, Raffles Place, Pasir Ris, Pioneer, Tampines, Tanjong Pagar and Yishun.

The LTA said it will continue to look at how other stations in the network can be improved.

Transport consultant Bruno Wildermuth said improving commuter experience at stations extends to having better access so that people can "get in and out easily".

He cited Bedok station, where commuters have to get down from the station and cross a road to get to the bus interchange.

Ms Joyce Wong, 37, who is in sales, said she is glad Jurong East station will be upgraded. Despite having been upgraded once in 2011, it is still very crowded, especially from 6.30pm to 7.30pm, she said.

This article was first published on Oct 20, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The two previous transport ministers - Mr Lui Tuck Yew and his predecessor, Mr Raymond Lim - made a number of profound changes that should pave the way for a more responsive and more sustainable transport system.

And new Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan has already spelt out his immediate tasks, which include upping the engineering expertise here to tackle the reliability issues faced by the rail network.

Mr Khaw also believes that Singapore should have a lower reliance on cars.

But for this to happen, the country must first be consistent and stay the course when it comes to investing in public transport infrastructure.

This includes keeping to the target of doubling the rail network by 2030, and to not be derailed by financial crises or economic uncertainties along the way.

If Singapore had kept to development plans spelt out 15 to 20 years ago, the rail network would have been far more comprehensive today, and its "car-lite" narrative would be more convincing.

Make no mistake, the Land Transport Authority, as well as all the main contractors and their sub-contractors and suppliers, are all stretched. After all, Singapore is embarking on no fewer than three new rail projects simultaneously. More, if the different stages and extensions of each line, and other improvements, are counted.

In the early days, engineers had to contend with only one - or at the most two - rail projects at any one time. Well, if this is what Singapore must do to play catch-up, so be it. Hopefully, the result will be a transport network that is so convenient and so accessible that having a car is no longer a necessity.

On the fringe, the plan to shift to a new rail financing framework needs more momentum. So far, both SBS Transit and SMRT Corp have not been persuaded to shift the operating contracts of their older lines over to the new framework.

The protracted nature of their discussions with the Transport Ministry suggests that both sides cannot iron out fundamental issues.

It might be good to pause and reflect if Singapore should be making its rail industry contestable - the way it is doing for the bus sector. Although the notion of letting competition motivate operators is appealing, the reality is that the rail business may be too unwieldy for the benefits of this to emerge. The risks associated with such a model are just too high.

It may be better to revisit the proposal to have one rail operator for better economies of scale, and pooling of expertise as well as domain and institutional knowledge.

The best rail systems happen to be those run by a monopoly, duopoly or by the state - think of Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taipei. Although a monopoly goes against popular economic theory, rail may be an exception. To extract the best efficiency out of a sole operator, it should be first delisted, so there are no competing demands from public shareholders.

Then empower regulators to have a stronger hold of that operator, allowing it to take top executives to task in the most direct and severe manner. It is only then that service, reliability and longevity can be improved.

Effective regulation is also needed for the new bus operating model Singapore has just embarked on. Without it, Singapore will end up with service standards that are not commensurate with the bigger bill taxpayers have to foot.

On roads, Singapore needs to optimise efficiency and capacity, given its space constraints. The next-generation Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system will allow this to be done, if only its full potential can be unleashed to charge according to distance and to bring intelligent, real-time traffic information into each and every vehicle.

Next up: taking a long, hard look at the vehicle quota system. With satellite-tracked, distance-based ERP, the lifespan of certificates of entitlement (COEs) could be tied to mileage rather than years. Doing so might just dilute motorists' drive to maximise usage of their cars once they have paid a king's ransom for them.

On the "car-lite" agenda, should Singapore shelve plans to build another highway? Work on the North-South Expressway, which is supposed to run parallel to the Central Expressway, was slated to start this year. But with the resource crunch, it might be delayed. Why not postpone it indefinitely? After all, building an $8 billion highway and going "car-lite" are conflicting messages.

Also, transport economists will point out that a new highway will be choked in no time because of induced demand.

Lastly, Singapore should really fix the taxi industry. Why is it that Singapore has the highest taxi population per capita and yet commuters complain perennially about the difficulty of getting a cab?

Will allowing transport app companies Uber and GrabTaxi to proliferate do the trick? Or will these newcomers eventually be part of the problem once they are entrenched?

Minister Khaw has already assigned Senior Minister of State for Transport Ng Chee Meng to take a closer look at these new players and see if it is necessary to adjust the playing field so that they compete fairly with taxi firms.

The fact that Mr Khaw did this within a week of assuming the transport portfolio shows that he is hitting the ground running, and that he is paying attention to both big and small issues. As far as commuters go, that must be a promising start.

This article was first published on October 25, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

A train fault at Braddell MRT station yesterday evening slowed down the service on the North-South Line, in an episode that lasted about one hour.

In a tweet at 7.17pm, train operator SMRT said to expect 25 minutes of travelling time between Marina Bay and Ang Mo Kio stations.

Free bus services were available between Marina South Pier and Ang Mo Kio, it said in another tweet. In an update at about 7.41pm, SMRT said train services had resumed, but trains would be travelling at slower speeds.

Patient service associate Nur Iffah, 24, who boarded the north- bound train at Novena, said it stopped on the way to Toa Payoh, and there was a blackout for about 10 minutes. The train was warm but passengers were calm, she added.

After the passengers were asked to alight at Toa Payoh, she boarded the next train, only to have it stall again for another 10 minutes towards Braddell. They were told to alight again. She waited another 25 minutes before she could board a train to her destination in Woodlands.

Another commuter caught in the delay was sales representative Shirley Lim, 55. "They asked us to take a bus, but didn't say from where. I was told there's a free bus to Bishan, but when I asked if there'll be a train there, they said no. I live in Marsiling, why would I want to go to Bishan?"

There were crowds of people at both the bus stops nearest to the Braddell station. Many others lined the roads trying to hail taxis. Signs were put up informing commuters of the bus bridging services.

For those going towards Marina Bay, the delay was shorter. "The train stopped at Bishan for about five minutes before it reached Braddell," said software engineer Edmond Quah, 31.

SMRT said in a tweet at 8.33pm that train services resumed normal operation and that free bus services were discontinued.

Earlier yesterday, the service between Tampines and Pasir Ris stations was affected on the East-West Line due to a track fault. Free bus services were activated after the train service was suspended for about 20 minutes. It resumed at 3.10pm, with trains travelling at a slower speed, SMRT said in a tweet.

tbridget@sph.com.sg

linettel@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on October 29, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

SINGAPORE - The sixth stage of the Circle Line (CCL6) will be completed in 2025, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) today (Oct 28).

Three more stations will be built to "close the loop", linking up Habourfront and Marina Bay stations. They are: Keppel, Cantonment and Prince Edward.

With the extension, the Circle Line will span 33 stations over 40km of tracks.

The Straits Times reported that it will cost $3.7 billion to build the 4-km line and stations.

When ready, the new stations will provide commuters a more direct rote between areas in the west like Pasir Panjang and Kent Ridge and the Central Business District. Currently, commuters have to make multiple transfers between Telok Blangah and Marina Bay stations, even though they are on the same line.

For instance, a commuter travelling from Telok Blangah to Marina Bay has to make two MRT transfers (Circle Line, North East Line and North-South Line). With CCL6, he will reach his destination in a single train ride, cutting his travelling time by about a third, or about 10 minutes, said LTA.

Keppel station will be located along Keppel Road.

Cantonment station will be integrated with the old Tanjong Pagar Railway Station building.

The heritage building, which has been gazetted as a national monument, will not be affected, LTA said, but parts of the railway station's train platforms will have to be removed to facilitate construction of the new Cantonment station, which will be underground.

Meanwhile Prince Edward station will be located near Palmer Road, and heritage landmarks like Bestway Building and Hock Teck See Temple. These landmarks won't be affected by CCL6, the LTA said.

However, four part lots of private land - comprising open areas, grass verges, container stacking lots and driveways - will have to be acquired by the Government to make way for CCL6. As these lots will only be partially affected, landowners will be able to remain in their current premises.

The affected landowners will receive acquisition notices today. LTA said in the statement that the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) will work closely with them and assist them throughout the acquisition process.

maryanns@sph.com.sg

Parts of the historic Tanjong Pagar Railway Station's platforms will be making way for the construction of the new underground Cantonment station on the Circle Line.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday it will seek advice from the heritage community on "possible solutions" for the two affected parallel stretches. The railway station was gazetted a national monument in 2011, alongside two 80m stretches of the platforms. The remaining 350m on each side are not part of the gazette.

The Straits Times understands that the authorities met six heritage experts on Tuesday and presented them with three options.

They were: to preserve the old platforms by dismantling, storing and reinstating them; to produce a replica; or to create a "new interpretation" of the railway platforms.

All the experts picked the first option. Singapore Heritage Society (SHS) president Chua Ai Lin said: "It is the only choice if you are serious about preserving history. The platforms must be reinstated as they are crucial in maintaining the railway's integrity."

LTA has also engaged Studio Lapis, an architectural conservation specialist consultancy, to assess the heritage significance and condition of the former railway station, and advise on mitigation measures.

Its co-founder, architectural restoration specialist Ho Weng Hin, said the second option is not feasible. It is unlikely that builders can replicate the former station's reinforced concrete platform structures to the "same level of craftsmanship and proportions", he said.

The 1932 station, designed by colonial architectural firm Swan and Maclaren, was the southern terminus of the Malaysian KTM railway company's network for 79 years.

The Cantonment station, slated to be ready by 2025, is one of three new stops for the sixth stage of the Circle Line. The other two stations are Keppel and Prince Edward.

LTA chief executive Chew Men Leong said the Cantonment location was selected as it fits in with the overall alignment, will serve existing catchments, and cater to future developments such as the Greater Southern Waterfront. LTA stressed that measures will be taken to sensitively integrate the new station with the railway building.

Experts said locating Cantonment station alongside the old railway complex could provide a sense of historical continuity. To achieve this, heritage enthusiast and naval architect Jerome Lim suggested that the old structure serve as a thoroughfare for future commuters.

But the authorities have yet to decide if the former railway will be accessible to the public when the new station is ready. The Tanjong Pagar Railway property, managed by the Singapore Land Authority, is now usually open on public holidays.

Experts also raised the question of why the platforms were not fully preserved in the National Heritage Board's (NHB) gazette.

Heritage law expert Kevin Tan said: "Without its platforms, the railway station will lose its sense of coherence. It would be like a head without its body."

In a joint reply, NHB and the Urban Redevelopment Authority said the critical parts adjoining the former railway station building were gazetted as part of the national monument. They said the rest of the platforms were not gazetted to provide the flexibility for future developments in the area to be designed and integrated meaningfully with the national monument.

They said: "We did not foresee it at the point of gazette, but this flexibility has facilitated plans to incorporate the new MRT station at the site, which will be critical to the former railway station's future success as a community node."

SHS exco member Yeo Kang Shua said the construction of the Prince Edward station, located in the heart of the historic Tanjong Malang, presents an opportunity for an archaeological impact assessment. "There should be an investigation into the first few metres of earth where the cultural layer lies."

melodyz@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Oct 30, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it will avoid testing new trains during off-service hours on Sunday nights, following a disruption on the North East Line (NEL) on Monday morning.

This is to minimise the impact on passenger service during the morning peak hour the next day, should a fault occur. On Monday, 41,000 NEL commuters, including students on their way to sit A- or O-level exams, were hit by a disruption of about two hours. A test train had pulled a wire on the line's overhead power system during off-service hours, causing a power fault.

This led Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan to ask yesterday, "why was the testing done during a major exam period, especially on its first day?" On his blog, he wrote that LTA had agreed, in hindsight, that "it could have limited the testing to only Saturday night/Sunday morning, rather than Sunday night, eating into Monday morning".

LTA said that, moving forward, it will "adopt a risk-based approach" in developing the testing schedule for new trains.

Mr Khaw said LTA explained to him that testing was not a daily affair and was done progressively - first during engineering, or off-service, hours over weekends, then during off-peak hours and, finally, when ready, into peak-hour traffic.

The new train in question was from a batch of five acquired to increase the NEL's capacity; it had clocked 200km on test tracks, before being tested on the line's tracks over the past two weeks.

In his blog, Mr Khaw praised the strong relationship between the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board and LTA. Contingency plans worked out beforehand were activated after SBS Transit and LTA alerted the board of the delay.

"Since breakdowns cannot be completely eliminated, we must be prepared for Murphy's Law and expect the worst," said Mr Khaw.

"Even when things are tried and tested, we must anticipate and buffer for further glitches and failures, so we do not let the stress of something unplanned happen during stressful events, like our children's national examination."

adrianl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Oct 31, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

THE rail industry may be restructured to allow for better integration between designers, builders and operators of MRT lines.

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan hinted at this in his latest blog post published yesterday, saying that a reliable rail system starts right from the design stage.

"As an engineer, I subscribe to the mantra that 'a good design is easy to build, maintain and operate'," he wrote yesterday.

A trained engineer, the minister said a complex system like Singapore's rail network requires "a tightly integrated approach to achieve optimal results".

"All parties involved in the different stages - design, build, operate, maintain - must work closely together," he added.

"For example, the designer must appreciate the operational complications and learn from them, so that his future designs can address these issues.

"The rail industry structure must promote and facilitate such an integrated approach."

In the current structure, the Land Transport Authority tenders out the design and construction contracts of MRT lines to engineering and construction companies. Upon completion, the line is handed over to the operator, who is also tasked with keeping the system in good running order and meeting service standards prescribed by the LTA.

In the case of Hong Kong - which Singapore is using as a benchmark - the MTR Corporation designs, builds, operates and maintains the entire system.

It has development rights to land around train stations, thus paving the way to unparalleled connectivity and accessibility.

Observers doubt Singapore will adopt Hong Kong's model wholesale, even as they admit that weak design seems to have played a role in some recent breakdowns.

For instance, 120km of power cables of the new Circle Line were replaced entirely with wiring more impervious to water last year, after short circuits caused by weak insulation disrupted service several times in 2011 and 2012.

More recently, a simple short circuit brought the North-South and East-West lines down on July 7.

"There is room to improve the integration in the current MRT industry structure, with the regulator, designer and builder working even more closely with the operator and maintainer," Mr Khaw wrote.

"We will have to consider whether to rework the structure or perhaps implement new processes to realise the ideal outcome. This is a strategic issue which we are currently thinking through."

Transport systems consultant Bruno Wildermuth, who was involved in the building of the first MRT line here, said Mr Khaw's statement on design "makes a lot of sense".

"It is about time we went on this route," he added.

SMRT spokesman Patrick Nathan said the operator is "very encouraged" by Minister Khaw's blog post.

christan@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

COMMUTERS transferring between train lines at two interchange stations on the upcoming Downtown Line 2 (DTL2) will have to exit and re-enter fare gantries.

This will be a first for Singapore's rail network.

At Newton MRT, commuters arriving on the DTL2 will have to tap out of the fare gantries and walk through a 56m public linkway before tapping in again to the North-South Line (NSL).

As long as the transfer is made within 15 minutes, commuters will be charged for a single journey.

This is because the underground link between the NSL and DTL2 is a 24-hour public underpass under Scotts Road, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday.

A similar tapping out and re-tapping in will be needed for transfers between the DTL2 and LRT systems at Bukit Panjang.

Having separate paid areas will allow an existing link bridge to continue to be used when trains are not in operation, LTA said.

The 12-station, 16.6km DTL2 will open on Dec 27, connecting commuters in Bukit Panjang and Bukit Timah directly to the city.

This article was first published on December 2, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Currently, under distance fares, transfers between different MRT lines at interchange stations are considered a single journey ("Relook rail fares for transfers between City Hall, Esplanade" by Mr Lee Yong Se; last Friday).

City Hall and Esplanade are two different stations. In this instance, a commuter would have started a new journey when he exits City Hall station and re-enters at Esplanade station.

For more information, commuters may refer to the MyTransport website

(http://www.mytransport.sg/content/mytransport/home/commuting.html#Fares_...).

Patrick Nathan
Vice-President
Corporate Information and Communications
SMRT Corporation

This article was first published on December 9, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has adopted a new method of tallying rail disruption numbers which excludes those caused by "external factors".

Not unexpectedly, figures collated with this new method are noticeably lower than previously.

For instance, under the old calculation, there were 12 major breakdowns (those longer than 30 minutes) last year. Under the new system, there were 10.

In the first nine months of this year, the authority said, there were seven such disruptions while, with the previous method, there would have already been seven in the first six months.

The LTA did not provide third-quarter figures under the previous method but, according to The Straits Times archives, there were at least three major breakdowns from July to September, including an unprecedented one that disabled the entire North-South and East-West lines on July 7.

The authority said the new method of counting disruptions excludes "factors beyond the control of the operators and LTA, such as passenger action". For instance, if a commuter's foot gets stuck in the gap between the train and station platform, or when someone trespasses onto a track.

In the first three quarters, "about 15 per cent" of disruptions longer than five minutes were caused by these factors, the LTA said yesterday.

For delays of more than five minutes, the LTA will also report the "mean distance travelled between delays" instead of the number of delays per 100,000km.

Again, the new method casts a rosier tint on the system's performance. Up to the end of September, the mean distance travelled between incidents was 149,000km - a 157 per cent improvement over the 58,000km clocked in 2011.

But with the previous method, the improvement was 53 per cent - from 1.75 delays per 100,000km to 0.83 in the first half of this year.

The LTA said that the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway and the New York City Transit use a similar methodology.

It added that switching to the new method allows it to better measure the progress made by operators and regulator in improving reliability and "to facilitate international benchmarking".

Dr Walter Theseira, an economist at SIM University, said: "While I agree with the principle of making our rail reliability statistics comparable internationally, for commuters, a disruption is a disruption, regardless of cause.

"Some types of passenger action which contribute to delays can be reduced by revising the design of stations and trains."

Dr Theseira also noted that, while the overall statistics are improving, delays lasting more than 30 minutes "have not budged significantly in recent years, even with the revised methodology".

He added that these disruptions are the ones that cause the most inconvenience to the public.

"While service can be recovered readily for disruptions of a few minutes, major disruptions force commuters to travel by alternative modes of transport, and we don't have the capacity in the rest of the transport system to accommodate such a large volume of commuters readily during peak-hour major disruptions."

This article was first published on Dec 12, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

THE power supply system of the entire MRT and LRT network will receive a thorough health check by next month.

In a first for the rail network, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has appointed an Independent Advisory Panel to study the power system's resilience.

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the panel will look into all recent power-related disruptions, identify potential system gaps and determine the timing for the next upgrade.

The 13-member panel comprises industry experts from Hong Kong's MTR Corporation, Japan's Meidensha Corporation and Germany's Siemens, along with academics from the Singapore University of Technology and Design, National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. There are also representatives from SBS Transit, SMRT, LTA, the Energy Market Authority and Empower Engineering Services.

The LTA said the panel will be briefed on the existing power supply system and will make site visits to understand the current structure, equipment and maintenance regime.

LTA's chief executive Chew Men Leong said he was confident that the panel's recommendations will help LTA determine the necessary actions to minimise power-related incidents and enhance overall reliability.

The worst MRT breakdown to date on July 7 was power-related - an intermittent tripping of the power system at multiple locations crippled both the North-South and East-West Lines.

Lock Kai Sang, a panel member and adjunct professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, said the panel brings together "diverse backgrounds and complementary competencies" to spot weaknesses and find solutions.

The review will cost $300,000, and is scheduled to be completed by end January.

Separately, the LTA will also set up a standing Expert Audit Panel, with members drawn from German, Hong Kong and Japanese rail operators.

"They will visit us regularly, examine the reliability of our rail system and help us achieve excellence in rail operations and maintenance," said Mr Khaw.

adrianl@sph.com.sg

Get MyPaper for more stories.

SINGAPORE - Between Feb 14 and end-August, MRT train services at some stations along the East-West Line will end up to half an hour earlier from Sundays to Thursdays, except on the eve of public holidays.

The affected stations are those between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris stations and between Joo Koon and Jurong East stations, operator SMRT said in a statement today.

This is to facilitate track renewal works, which SMRT said have made significant progress after it implemented the early closures of other East-West Line stations in November last year.

SMRT intends to replace 92,000 timber sleepers to concrete sleepers for the line by 2017. 26 per cent of the works have been completed.

Roger Lim,programme director of track and infrastructure said: "As we intensify the level of track renewal work undertaken each day, we are making every effort to minimise inconvenience to commuters even as we ensure that train services run smoothly every day. Speed restrictions have been kept in check to ensure that the trains run smoothly and travelling time is minimally affected."

huizhen@sph.com.sg

Commuters who are confused while making their way around MRT interchange stations such as Dhoby Ghaut or Paya Lebar will soon get some help with directions through new display screens on trains.

From the second half of this year, 50 new trains on the North-South and East-West lines will have screens that display not only route information, but also station information to help commuters navigate from the train platform to the exits.

The screens, which replace the current route maps, will also have information about landmarks in the area.

Route maps on older trains, which were introduced in 2008, will progressively be changed over the next two years.

The use of these screens will allow public transport operator SMRT to update information on maps without needing to replace the existing display.

The SMRT Active Route Map Information System (Staris) 2.0 was on display yesterday at SMRT's first Customer Experience Innovation Conference, held at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability.

The conference, attended by 500 SMRT staff, featured presentations by nine speakers from various organisations on the topic of service excellence.

It also featured other technological innovations aimed at improving customer service, such as a new passenger information system at bus interchanges.

The new touchscreen panels will show bus services and departure timings as well as information about traffic congestion to help commuters plan their journeys.

They will also provide information about events happening nearby.

These panels will be available at the upcoming Woodlands Temporary Interchange in March before being introduced at other interchanges.

Speaking at the conference, SMRT president and group chief executive Desmond Kuek said that major train disruptions and reliability issues in recent years had "shaken public confidence" in the corporation.

He added that these incidents prompted SMRT to focus on customer service and win several service excellence awards in the last two years. "We needed to regain the trust and confidence of all our stakeholders," he said.

azhaki@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Jan 22, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

SINGAPORE - Some train services along the East-West Line will end earlier from Feb 14 to end August this year.

According to SMRT, the affected train services are between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris stations and between Joo Koon and Jurong East stations. They will end up to half an hour earlier from Sundays to Thursdays, except on the eve of public holidays.

SMRT advises commuters who board trains after 11.15pm on the East-West Line to plan their journey and consider alternative transport arrangements.

The Straits Times reported that the closure is due to the facilitation of rail works. This is a result of the second phase of works along the SMRT rail network which involves the replacement of sleepers to hold the tracks in place. SMRT intends to complete the works by 2017.

stephluo@sph.com.sg

Last train timings

The additional $2 billion that will be incurred by building the proposed Cross Island Line around the Central Catchment Nature Reserve instead of across it is likely to be a fraction of the total cost of the MRT project.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA), which had given the $2 billion figure in response to proposals for the line to skirt around the nature reserve, said yesterday it is unable to estimate the total cost of the 50km Cross Island Line as studies on the entire line have not been completed.

But industry experts estimate that the cost of the project could be as much as $40.7 billion.

This is based in part on calculations for past and ongoing MRT projects, which show that each kilometre of MRT tunnel costs about $350 million to $400 million to design and build.

Costs could go up by 25 per cent if eight-car trains are used, compared with the three- or six-car trains used currently.

The introduction of an express service, among other things, could also increase costs by up to 40 per cent owing to the need to build an additional track.

So the extra $2 billion for building the Cross Island Line around the nature reserve could work out to less than 5 per cent of the total cost of the project.

Nature groups had earlier raised concerns that construction work on the Cross Island Line, expected to stretch from Changi to Jurong, would have a negative impact on the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Singapore's largest nature reserve. This is especially so if the line cuts across the nature reserve instead of skirting around it.

Having the Cross Island Line cut through the nature reserve involves building a 2km tunnel approximately 40m deep beneath the nature reserve's MacRitchie area. There would be no physical structures on the surface level.

Some members of the public The Straits Times spoke to felt that the additional cost was justified if it helped ease Singapore's transport crunch.

Those who have proposed routing the Cross Island Line round the reserve said the line would serve residents in the area and avoid disrupting the flora and fauna in the reserve.

Dr Vilma D'Rozario, an associate professor at the National Institute of Education, said: "Routing around the reserve to pick up more commuters along the way would certainly help ease road traffic congestion and sardine-packed train conditions."

Financial consultant Johnson Long, 70, believes that the additional cost can be recouped with increased ridership over the years.

Residents who live in the estates that could be affected by the skirting alignment have voiced concerns that their homes would be acquired by the state for the building of the line.

Mr Anthony Oei, 82, who has lived in Yew Lian Park for more than 50 years, questioned the need to divert the line.

"Will we have to give way to wildlife?" he asked.

Others said the possible environmental impact of the line going through the reserve should not be ignored.

Commenting on some suggestions thrown up by the public, a spokesman for the LTA said it is not possible for the stretch of Cross Island Line in question to run under Upper Thomson Road, which is near the nature reserve, owing to limited space caused by construction work on the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line.

azhaki@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on February 24, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.