Log In | Register
THE five-hour disruption on the North-South MRT Line on Thursday started with four trains stopping in the tunnel, leaving 127,000 commuters stranded - 4,000 of whom were stuck in stuffy carriages.
A COMPLEX SITUATION
Ms Saw, flanked by Khoo Hean Siang (left) and Goh Chee Kong (right), ruled out ageing infrastructure as the cause for the misalignment because the company undertakes strict routine maintenance and regular overhauls
SMRT Corp president and CEO Saw Phaik Hwa apologised for the lapse at a media briefing yesterday.'Many commuters are unhappy at the moment. There is nothing more to say except that we are very sorry,' she said. 'We apologise for the considerable inconvenience, especially to those who were uncomfortable in the stranded trains.'
The disruption started at 6.47pm and was caused by a 40-metre section of misaligned third rail between Dhoby Ghaut and City Hall MRT stations.
Ms Saw said the cause of the misalignment was still being investigated but ruled out ageing infrastructure because the listed company undertakes strict routine maintenance and regular overhauls.
'We can't ascertain why it happened because it's never happened before,' she said.
SMRT said a confluence of factors complicated 'a complex situation'. There was the peak-hour congestion as well as the severity of the problem.
Disruption, which hit 127,000 commuters, caused by a section of misaligned third rail that supplies powerr SMRT breakdown - December 17, 2011
Article Source: Business Times Online: The Business Times
- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
- Public Discussion (1)
Ms Saw, 57, stepped down as president and CEO of SMRT with immediate effect "to pursue personal interests", said the transport operator in a filing with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) after the market has closed trading for the day.
SMRT, which is listed on the SGX, has appointed 63-year-old Tan Ek Kia, a board director, as interim CEO.
Ms Saw's resignation came amid public anger over two major breakdowns in train services that happened in succession last month that stranded tens of thousands of commuters.
Many of the commuters were trapped in trains stalled underground during the disruption that hit the SMRT network's North-South Line during the evening rush hour. In one of the breakdowns, service was disrupted for seven hours.
Last month's breakdowns were the worst since Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit system was launched in 1987.
SMRT's board of directors, in accepting Ms Saw's offer of resignation, said: "Ms Saw will remain with the Group to assist the relevant investigation teams and the Committee of Inquiry (COI) reviewing the causes of, and responses to, the disruptions to train operations in December, and with the transition to new executive leadership."
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1175196/1/.html
Does her resignation solve the real root problem of "ignoring the obvious consequence of underground erosion due to unfavourable geological conditions"? The project engineers who planned the route oblivious to the predicted geohazards 14 years ago should be held responsible also.
- 1 vote
#1 - Fri Jan 6, 2012 3:23 PM ESTYou're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
