Serious SINGAPORE Going public on train cracks could have caused undue panic: Khaw

[BuiKia]

SINGAPORE: Declaring that trains were being returned to China for repairs due to hairline cracks could have caused undue panic, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said at the Bishan Depot on Tuesday (Jul 12).

Mr Khaw said that going public for something that was not "a major event" might have caused unnecessary panic to the layman, noting that to engineers, not all cracks are the same.

"If all cracks have to be reported, if they do not cause any of those issues on safety, they will have to think about what is the impact on the ground," said Mr Khaw. "Looking back, I think it's understandable."

He added that if there was a safety issue, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) would have gone public.

"If there is a safety issue and there's no response, what will that be like?" Mr Khaw asked. "LTA will decide to go public immediately."

The Transport Minister added that even if there were no safety concerns, should rectification works require many trains to be taken away, his ministry and LTA will still explain why they will have to reduce capacity of the rail system.

The briefing comes after Hong Kong-based news agency FactWire reported that the defective trains were being sent back to Qingdao, China, claiming that the recalls were being done "in secret". SMRT has said the trains on its rail lines are "extensively tested" to ensure safety and reliability.

HAIRLINE CRACKS NOT LINKED TO ANY TRAIN DELAYS: LTA

There was no correlation to train delays of more than five minutes to the hairline cracks, LTA said at the briefing. It indicated that most of the delays since 2014 were linked to signalling faults, door or brake issues, with none linked to hairline cracks.

The authority added that even when trains were being repaired, there were always enough trains to meet demand.

For example, for 2016, there are 140 trains available for the North-South and East-West lines, and 124 trains are needed to meet demand. This will continue till 2019 - when replacement work is completed - where there will always be more trains available than needed, according to estimates.

SAME CONSORTIUM WON NEW CONTRACT AS CRACK PROBLEM WAS RESOLVED

The Kawasaki / Sifang consortium also won Contract T251 - for the supply of 91 four-car electric multiple units trains for the Thomson East Coast Lines - because the problem of hairline cracks for trains purchased under contract C151A were resolved conclusively.

"From the experience of C151A, bolsters of trains will be supplied by Japanese supplier Kobe Steel," said LTA.

"Kawasaki / Sifang has shown a high level of responsiveness and strong sense of responsibility in addressing the issue," it added.

LTA said that the consortium won out of six bidders at it provided the best overall offer based on price, quality and life-cycle costs. Other bidders included Hyundai Rotem, which wanted to build the trains in Korea, and Construcciones Y Auxiliar De Ferrocarriles, which would have built the trains in Spain. Four other tenderers proposed to assemble the trains in China.

 

[Hans168]

so?
to be dishonest is the best policy????????????????
this govt cannot be trusted with simple truth, can it be trusted with complicated ones>>>????

 

[halsey02]

If it was the opposition party of LTK, Sylvi's, Prickthem & sing etc...who is in charge of buying those train carriages....you think khaw will bother of it will cause undue panic?....he will khaw beh, khaw bu so much & include words, like, cum clean, commit harakiri....

etc...

but it is, the Cow$8....excuses, excuses.....now blame the commuters.... anyway...70% deserve people like khaw....& they die with faulty train carriages....be happy....they deserve it...don't khaw beh, khaw bu...

 

[goldenmonkey]

SINGAPORE: Declaring that trains were being returned to China for repairs due to hairline cracks could have caused undue panic, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said at the Bishan Depot on Tuesday (Jul 12).

Mr Khaw said that going public for something that was not "a major event" might have caused unnecessary panic to the layman, noting that to engineers, not all cracks are the same.

"If all cracks have to be reported, if they do not cause any of those issues on safety, they will have to think about what is the impact on the ground," said Mr Khaw. "Looking back, I think it's understandable."

He added that if there was a safety issue, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) would have gone public.

"If there is a safety issue and there's no response, what will that be like?" Mr Khaw asked. "LTA will decide to go public immediately."

The Transport Minister added that even if there were no safety concerns, should rectification works require many trains to be taken away, his ministry and LTA will still explain why they will have to reduce capacity of the rail system.

The briefing comes after Hong Kong-based news agency FactWire reported that the defective trains were being sent back to Qingdao, China, claiming that the recalls were being done "in secret". SMRT has said the trains on its rail lines are "extensively tested" to ensure safety and reliability.

HAIRLINE CRACKS NOT LINKED TO ANY TRAIN DELAYS: LTA

There was no correlation to train delays of more than five minutes to the hairline cracks, LTA said at the briefing. It indicated that most of the delays since 2014 were linked to signalling faults, door or brake issues, with none linked to hairline cracks.

The authority added that even when trains were being repaired, there were always enough trains to meet demand.

For example, for 2016, there are 140 trains available for the North-South and East-West lines, and 124 trains are needed to meet demand. This will continue till 2019 - when replacement work is completed - where there will always be more trains available than needed, according to estimates.

SAME CONSORTIUM WON NEW CONTRACT AS CRACK PROBLEM WAS RESOLVED

The Kawasaki / Sifang consortium also won Contract T251 - for the supply of 91 four-car electric multiple units trains for the Thomson East Coast Lines - because the problem of hairline cracks for trains purchased under contract C151A were resolved conclusively.

"From the experience of C151A, bolsters of trains will be supplied by Japanese supplier Kobe Steel," said LTA.

"Kawasaki / Sifang has shown a high level of responsiveness and strong sense of responsibility in addressing the issue," it added.

LTA said that the consortium won out of six bidders at it provided the best overall offer based on price, quality and life-cycle costs. Other bidders included Hyundai Rotem, which wanted to build the trains in Korea, and Construcciones Y Auxiliar De Ferrocarriles, which would have built the trains in Spain. Four other tenderers proposed to assemble the trains in China.

Sorry Mr Khaw, I guess you are right again. It is us who are at fault for being too panicky over "not major events" in the past. For that, we are sorry.

Shall we now catch hold of the informer who have caused undue panic, in this case, who has raised the alarm?

 

[virus]

he just lend credibility that CPF vault is empty because whorejinx gambled it all and all attempt to hide this fact is for everyone's good.

 

[crazyMod]

Lucky he is not HDB minister.

If HDB got cracks we won't be informed because of undue panic.

Let's Pokémon him!

 

[winnipegjets]

Khaw has failed as Transport minister ...he boasted that MRT services have improved and then walla, then a massive breakdown occurs.

Aside, why is the Deputy CEO LTA doing the explanation, instead of the CEO? What kind of CEO is that who hides when issues flare up?

 

[butoh6050]

With logic like this, you wonder what other things are kept in the dark.

 

[JohnTan]

Khaw is right. It's only minor cracks. Why create unnecessary public unrest just to boost readership numbers for the paper? The media needs to be as responsible as the Straits Times, and not publish sensation half truths like the defunct TRS website.

 

[JHolmesJr]

Declaring that trains were being returned to China for repairs due to hairline cracks could have caused undue panic...

However, hiding the matter till the news leaks out in the foreign press is a very elegant solution.

 

[CABcommander]

Khaw is right. It's only minor cracks. Why create unnecessary public unrest just to boost readership numbers for the paper? The media needs to be as responsible as the Straits Times, and not publish sensation half truths like the defunct TRS website.

Lancheow minor cracks. If minor need to ship all the way back to repair? 20+ failed out of 30+ trains. In terms of manufacturing this is total failure. Whole batch got to be thrown away.

 

[batman1]

It's time for Khaw to take the farking responsibility as a man,talk so much excuses for what,do the hara-kiri to show repentance,just do it !
Don't be a farking coward !

 

[Penchion]

It's time for Khaw to take the farking responsibility as a man,talk so much excuses for what,do the hara-kiri to show repentance,just do it !
Don't be a farking coward !

He's doing Taichi-ing and prata-ing, no time for hara-kiri.

 

[nayr69sg]

This reminds me of the time when MOH did not go public about SARS because it would cause "undue panic"

The same decision by SGH not to let the doctors and nurses wear N95 masks when we took over patients from TTSH because it would cause "undue panic". Basically the receptionists would want masks, the proters and cleaners would also want masks and they did not have enough N95 masks to go around. Yup later we had a SARS outbreak within SGH itself. Dr Alex Chao died, several other nurses died and in the end everyone was wearing a mask including the cleaners and food court workers. So much for not causing "undue panic".

This is the level of nanny state Singapore is. And the people love it. See election results. Government dictates everything. We doctors asked that SGH let us wear N95 masks when we went to see the TTSH patient but were told not to because it would cause "undue panic". Several health care workers paid for with their lives.

In Canada when the Ebola virus scare came on, we had a case where a patient said he was from a city in Africa that might have Ebola. We called the Alberta Chief Medical Officer to ask for permission to release the Ebola kit for all the ED staff and were told that the city the patient came from is alleged NOT to be on the list of affected areas hence he would not release the Ebola kit.

The senior staff on duty made to call TO GO AGAINST the orders of the Chief Medical Officer and released the Ebola kit. She was not going to have the lives of the people working with her put in danger over bureaucracy. I was impressed! In Singapore people are so afraid of the Ministars and Public Servants they would just follow lor.

There are many things I can think of that should not go public because it would cause undue panic

1) CPF is bankrupt
2) Temasek is bankrupt
3) Government is corrup
4) Breakdown in water purification systems leaking mercury into the water
5) Nuclear leak from US aircraft carrier poisoning waters off Singapore
6) Prime Minister is gay
7) Elections are all rigged in Singapore

and many more....

oh well I guess Singaporeans are very lucky that the government has their best concerns at heart and will not unduly cause panic among the faithful countrymen.

 

[ginfreely]

This reminds me of the time when MOH did not go public about SARS because it would cause "undue panic"

The same decision by SGH not to let the doctors and nurses wear N95 masks when we took over patients from TTSH because it would cause "undue panic". Basically the receptionists would want masks, the proters and cleaners would also want masks and they did not have enough N95 masks to go around. Yup later we had a SARS outbreak within SGH itself. Dr Alex Chao died, several other nurses died and in the end everyone was wearing a mask including the cleaners and food court workers. So much for not causing "undue panic".

This is the level of nanny state Singapore is. And the people love it. See election results. Government dictates everything. We doctors asked that SGH let us wear N95 masks when we went to see the TTSH patient but were told not to because it would cause "undue panic". Several health care workers paid for with their lives.

In Canada when the Ebola virus scare came on, we had a case where a patient said he was from a city in Africa that might have Ebola. We called the Alberta Chief Medical Officer to ask for permission to release the Ebola kit for all the ED staff and were told that the city the patient came from is alleged NOT to be on the list of affected areas hence he would not release the Ebola kit.

The senior staff on duty made to call TO GO AGAINST the orders of the Chief Medical Officer and released the Ebola kit. She was not going to have the lives of the people working with her put in danger over bureaucracy. I was impressed!

Yes really impressive. That's why Sporeans should learn from foreigners who are really good like her.

Actually don't know what panic is there. The trains defective just give a PR note saying so will do. That is what I read before in newspapers when people order planes and got some defects.

 

[winnipegjets]

Khaw is right. It's only minor cracks. Why create unnecessary public unrest just to boost readership numbers for the paper? The media needs to be as responsible as the Straits Times, and not publish sensation half truths like the defunct TRS website.

If not for the expose by the HK site, we wouldn't know about it. The PAP government wanted to hush this latest, of many, screw-up.
I am so happy that foreign sites are helping sinkees to see the light.

This is holding the PAP accountable. If sinkees believe the Khaw BS, then they deserve to die in a future MRT mishap.

 

[winnipegjets]

Yes really impressive. That's why Sporeans should learn from foreigners who are really good like her.

Actually don't know what panic is there. The trains defective just give a PR note saying so will do. That is what I read before in newspapers when people order planes and got some defects.

In Canada, people think and dare to go against the higher ups. That's the main difference. If sinkees do that, the PAP would be gone. Many of the scholars would lose their hair or die from cancer due to work stress. The ministers likewise. Pinky might even die of cancer.

 

[red amoeba]

once again, Khaw think he can decide for us what is deemed important to tell ? SMRT is a public listed company and is responsible to inform shareholders if something impact operational or bottom line. Buying defective train represent tax payer money going down the drain. Simple question for Khaw :

-if the cracks are not serious why send back and incur shipping charges and all sorts of logistics costs ?
-If you ship it back it means the problem warrants rectification. Then y is it not serious ?

-it's evident that in order to ship the trains back you need to buffer up the number of trains in order not to lose operational capacity, so when these trains return refurbished what are you gonna do with the excess trains ? Your infra srructure can only sustain so many trains at single go.

-why it takes 3 years to rectify a minor (like what is reported problem ?). Does it mean it's a total rebuild. ? Is it for free ?

-now with this debacle that make us a laughing stock globally, is this company blacklisted from future tenders ?

-we speak about Total cost of ownership - doesn't This episode make awarding the contract to have the trains made entirely in Japan more worth it despite the higher selling price. ? The cost of buffering the excess capacity already means you pay additional 50%.

-

 

[rover2sg]

LOL!:oIo:

 

[CABcommander]

once again, Khaw think he can decide for us what is deemed important to tell ? SMRT is a public listed company and is responsible to inform shareholders if something impact operational or bottom line. Buying defective train represent tax payer money going down the drain. Simple question for Khaw :

-if the cracks are not serious why send back and incur shipping charges and all sorts of logistics costs ?
-If you ship it back it means the problem warrants rectification. Then y is it not serious ?

-it's evident that in order to ship the trains back you need to buffer up the number of trains in order not to lose operational capacity, so when these trains return refurbished what are you gonna do with the excess trains ? Your infra srructure can only sustain so many trains at single go.

-why it takes 3 years to rectify a minor (like what is reported problem ?). Does it mean it's a total rebuild. ? Is it for free ?

-now with this debacle that make us a laughing stock globally, is this company blacklisted from future tenders ?

-we speak about Total cost of ownership - doesn't This episode make awarding the contract to have the trains made entirely in Japan more worth it despite the higher selling price. ? The cost of buffering the excess capacity already means you pay additional 50%.

-

if lets say you buy a Toyota and then upon delivery to Singapore, agent tell you due to small non-safety problem they gotta ship the damn car back to japan for repair, you believe the problem just minor only? worse still that same batch of cars got more than 2/3 facing same problem as your car. Safe? Small problem? only 70% goondu gongkia take their shit as gospel.