SMRT top management defends maintenance regime at COI
By Hetty Musfirah | Posted: 11 May 2012 1757 hrs
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SINGAPORE: Some of SMRT's top personnel have defended the train operator's maintenance regime as the public inquiry into last December's train disruptions continues.
Taking the stand on Friday were the company's chairman Koh Yong Guan and interim CEO Tan Ek Kia.
Mr Koh said the board had not found it necessary to tell SMRT to review its maintenance procedures.
He said it has been "an extremely difficult period" for the train operator.
But Mr Koh said the resolve to gain back public confidence has not been affected.
On the issue of maintenance, he urged the Committee of Inquiry to take a holistic view.
Mr Koh pointed out that maintenance costs have been kept low given the ageing MRT line.
More was spent on upgrading or capital expenditure.
He said the SMRT board always emphasises safety and does not simply "rubber-stamp."
Mr Koh pointed to the only instance when the SMRT board and management were not on the same page.
SMRT had proposed to run train services for 24 hours when bidding for the Downtown Line project. The board had said no, unless it can be assured that there'll be no compromise on time for maintenance of trains.
Mr Tan, who took over as interim CEO four months ago, said SMRT's Internal Investigation Team (IIT) had made a mistake in assessing the train operator's repair and maintenance costs.
Internal investigations had shown a drop in repair and maintenance expenditure.
But Mr Tan said the team should have measured the costs based on 'train per kilometre', which is more relevant, instead of 'passenger per kilometre'.
Mr Tan said SMRT has pointed out the mistake to the IIT.
He added that the Rail Incident Management plan (RIMP) has also been made more responsive and aligned with the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) three alert levels.
Level 1 is the highest, where the home front crisis group and ministerial committee will be activated.
It applies to a sudden and disastrous incident that affects national security, with large-scale loss of lives.
Level 2 is for disruptions that last more than an hour, affecting large groups of commuters and may include a major loss of lives.
Multi-agencies such as the LTA and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will be called in.
Level 3 involves disruptions that last less than an hour where SMRT will handle such situations on its own.
Chairman of the Committee of Inquiry (COI) Judge Tan Siong Thye felt it's hard to differentiate between levels 1 and 2 and that the consequences are about the same.
He stressed the need for clarity, so that ground staff will find it easy to understand and implement.
SMRT's interim CEO Mr Tan also spoke at length on the improvements that SMRT is undertaking.
He elaborated on plans to replace all the rail claws on the third rail of the North-South and East- West Lines, saying the latest version of the claws comes with a positive-locking mechanism.
He said priority will be given to those areas that typically encounter higher vibrations.
It'll take about one-and-a-half years to complete the project.
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By Hetty Musfirah | Posted: 11 May 2012 1757 hrs
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SINGAPORE: Some of SMRT's top personnel have defended the train operator's maintenance regime as the public inquiry into last December's train disruptions continues.
Taking the stand on Friday were the company's chairman Koh Yong Guan and interim CEO Tan Ek Kia.
Mr Koh said the board had not found it necessary to tell SMRT to review its maintenance procedures.
He said it has been "an extremely difficult period" for the train operator.
But Mr Koh said the resolve to gain back public confidence has not been affected.
On the issue of maintenance, he urged the Committee of Inquiry to take a holistic view.
Mr Koh pointed out that maintenance costs have been kept low given the ageing MRT line.
More was spent on upgrading or capital expenditure.
He said the SMRT board always emphasises safety and does not simply "rubber-stamp."
Mr Koh pointed to the only instance when the SMRT board and management were not on the same page.
SMRT had proposed to run train services for 24 hours when bidding for the Downtown Line project. The board had said no, unless it can be assured that there'll be no compromise on time for maintenance of trains.
Mr Tan, who took over as interim CEO four months ago, said SMRT's Internal Investigation Team (IIT) had made a mistake in assessing the train operator's repair and maintenance costs.
Internal investigations had shown a drop in repair and maintenance expenditure.
But Mr Tan said the team should have measured the costs based on 'train per kilometre', which is more relevant, instead of 'passenger per kilometre'.
Mr Tan said SMRT has pointed out the mistake to the IIT.
He added that the Rail Incident Management plan (RIMP) has also been made more responsive and aligned with the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) three alert levels.
Level 1 is the highest, where the home front crisis group and ministerial committee will be activated.
It applies to a sudden and disastrous incident that affects national security, with large-scale loss of lives.
Level 2 is for disruptions that last more than an hour, affecting large groups of commuters and may include a major loss of lives.
Multi-agencies such as the LTA and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will be called in.
Level 3 involves disruptions that last less than an hour where SMRT will handle such situations on its own.
Chairman of the Committee of Inquiry (COI) Judge Tan Siong Thye felt it's hard to differentiate between levels 1 and 2 and that the consequences are about the same.
He stressed the need for clarity, so that ground staff will find it easy to understand and implement.
SMRT's interim CEO Mr Tan also spoke at length on the improvements that SMRT is undertaking.
He elaborated on plans to replace all the rail claws on the third rail of the North-South and East- West Lines, saying the latest version of the claws comes with a positive-locking mechanism.
He said priority will be given to those areas that typically encounter higher vibrations.
It'll take about one-and-a-half years to complete the project.
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