"Increase frequency of trains on North-East Line"
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Nov 17, 2007
Increase frequency of trains on North-East Line
I TAKE the North-East Line, from Boon Keng Station to Dhoby Ghaut, to work in the morning. It is almost impossible to get into a cabin by the time the trains reach Boon Keng Station.
At Farrer Park and Little India, only those who dared to push themselves (and others) can get aboard. The journey is extremely uncomfortable for everyone.
The seven minutes-a-train schedule was set when the flats in Punggol and Seng Kang were not filled, and when the country had a smaller population. Now, there are more people living in Punggol and Seng Kang - in fact, everywhere on our tiny island, contributing to our economy and making it 'vibrant'. Unfortunately, a more vibrant Singapore is also a more crowded one.
Before SBS Transit starts comparing our trains to Tokyo's, may I repeat the point a Singaporean who had lived in Tokyo made a couple of years ago when the crowded-trains problem was brought up: Our standard of personal hygiene is not on par with the Japanese's. In addition, our humid climate makes us perspire and smell. It is no fun being pressed against bodies wet with perspiration and body odour early in the morning.
I hope SBS Transit will look into increasing the frequency of trains during the morning peak hours. If this is not possible, perhaps it could do what the Japanese did: designate a few carriages for women.
Kuah Kar Yoke (Ms)
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_177703.html
Looking at the comments stemed from this article...
#1:
There have been a number of letters written about the inconvenient frequency of trains. I wonder what the MRT CEO is still waiting for. Do we have to bring in UPS or FedEx to manage our MRT?
My thoughts: How short do you want? Is waiting for a train longer than waiting for a bus?
#2:
The MRT CEO does not take the MRT, just like the NTUC-DELGRO CEO does not take taxis. How could they really appreciate the problems with their business? As with a lot of CEOs in Singapore, they have risen to the level of inefficiency!
My thoughts: This guy is talking rubbish.
#3:
North East line is always empty except during the peak hours. How will they make profit if they increase the frequency of the trains?
My thoughts: Good, at least there is one appreciative commuter here.
#4:
It is always about MONEY,
never about SERVICE.
Live with it.
My thoughts: Since you don't like SERVICE, then go buy your own car! Why are you barking like a mad dog here? -
NEL trains are getting packed these days
I think SMRT lines even worst -
Nov 17, 2007
SMRT should look into problems with train doors
I WOULD like to bring up the issue of passenger safety on trains.
I boarded a train along the North East Line from Potong Pasir to Serangoon on Nov 9 at around 5.40pm with a friend of mine. This train encountered problems and stopped suddenly between two stations.
After a while, attempts were made for it to move, but they resulted in multiple jerks which sent some passengers who were standing colliding into others if they had not managed to get hold of any of the grab bars. The train had to move slowly until we reached our destination. The alignment of the doors was not accurate, so we had to wait before we could alight.
The train inched forward so that they would align. The inner doors finally opened, leaving the outer one along the platform still closed. When it did open, we began to walk through it, only to have it close on us. My friend was uninjured, but it left me with grazes on my right arm as well as grease on my palms.
I was rather disappointed at the level of safety as it had not been my first time seeing such incidents happening, resulting in injury.
On Oct 27 at around 2pm, I was at the City Hall station, waiting along the East West Line when a crowd rushed into the already-packed train. An elderly woman was one of the last few attempting to board the train, believing that the crowds would eventually ease into the middle of the train, leaving enough space for her.
Suddenly, the doors closed on her, resulting in the woman being stuck between the doors. Being in her 70s at least, she was unable to struggle free. A few women who had been nearby, including a woman in her 30s who was accompanying the elderly woman, tried our best to pull open the doors to free her, but to no avail. Without the help of a man to pull open the doors, the consequences would have had been disastrous if the train had moved with the elderly lady still remaining there. Yet, the undeniable fact is that the elderly lady would have suffered shock from this incident. There had either been no sensors to open the doors when people get stuck in-between it or they had been faulty.
I feel that more measures should be taken to ensure the safety of the public when we travel on these trains. The problem of the doors places many who take the trains every day in risk of injury. Would the authorities look into this matter?
Elaine Wee (Miss)
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_177485.html
Firstly, I don't think SMRT controls the NEL.
Secondly, who asked you not to hold the grab-bars? They are there for a reason.
Thirdly, the train will not move off if the PSDs are not closed. It's a safety measure.
Lastly, there is a emergency stop plunger at the platform of the station. -
I don't really know about peak hour on the NEL but I think some day I should go down and observe.Originally posted by sbst275:NEL trains are getting packed these days
I think SMRT lines even worst -
squeeze arh!!!!Originally posted by sbst275:I think SMRT lines even worst -
Nov 17, 2007
Good public transport: If other countries can achieve it, why can't we?
MANY Straits Times readers have written on the state of public transportation in Singapore. Yet little has been done to improve the situation.
We have only seen increasing costs in public transportation over the years that did not translate into a more expedient mode of travel for commuters. Singapore prides itself as one of the developed countries in Asia, yet if you visit other countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan, you will notice how badly we have trailed behind in the following areas:
MRT - The waiting time during peak and non-peak hours in both Taiwan and Hong Kong is significantly shorter than that of Singapore. Also, for visitors who do not have a stored value card, they are not charged the extra deposit for the ticket. I had a friend who visited Singapore recently and he did not realise that he could obtain a refund at the ticketing machines at the end of the trip.
Buses - We probably have one of the most convoluted bus routes. With SBS combining many of the routes many years ago, today it is not unusual for you to take three buses to get around housing estates. Valuable time is lost in waiting at the interchange stations.
Taxis - This is one of the biggest nightmares for any business visitor or tourist. Many of my Taiwanese and Hong Kong co-workers have told me about how difficult it is to hail a taxi in Singapore during peak hours. In these two countries, even during the peak hours, you could easily flag down a taxi in their central business districts. There are no confusing additional surcharges in terms of peak hour, CBD zonal or ERP charges.
For those of us who live here, even if we know the phone numbers to call for a cab, our efforts to get a cab are usually futile at specific hours in the night. Imagine the number of business visitors or tourists waiting forlornly for a cab at some taxi stand during these hours.
Really, for us to improve as a city known for its high standard of living, a tourist destination and a major financial centre, we should benchmark ourselves against the countries known for their public transportation. Many cities in Asia already outpaced us in that area and we should not lose sight of our declining competitiveness in public transportation.
Ow Seng Fong
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_177490.html
Let's not talk about taxis...
MRT: I'm asking again, how short do you want? If you want more trains, pay money for more equipment, more electricity and more maintenence. As for the $1 deposit, it's written so bloody clearly on the GTM that you can get your $1 deposit after reaching your destination, either you forgot or you didn't see it. Don't so bloody assume that SMRT is at fault.
Bus: If you think bus routes are so complicated, go buy a car, helicopter, rocket or limosuine. Don't come here and bark like as if you own SBST. -
Alamak
You think every Pt A to Pt B got direct connection for buses? -
I suspect that that guy simply loves Taiwan and HK, and compares them to Singapore, the barks out any teeny weeny detail that our transport system lacks.
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Not I wanna sayOriginally posted by Oceane:I suspect that that guy simply loves Taiwan and HK, and compares them to Singapore, the barks out any teeny weeny detail that our transport system lacks.
Even in HK, not to everywhere there's a direct bus route one de la
As for MRT, really the services gotta improve... waiting time is one issue -
I guess we have to be quite appreciative at times. Of course the frequency cannot be world class, but for Sg its like so much for that we pay for.
I don't know what happened here and in the bus forum for the past week, but I think at times it can be frustrating for the passengers to wait for too long. Lets say if off peak frequencies are like five minutes per train, would you agree to it?
Tokyo's Ginza line (most busy line in Tokyo) has peak frequency of one minute and half, and thats one timing we can head towards for peak hours, and we are running on auto systems for pleasant days (SMRT) while they are running manual operations... -
More money are going to give out as dividends.. Who cares the commuters. 
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Not necessaryOriginally posted by Darkness_hacker99:
More money are going to give out as dividends.. Who cares the commuters.
SBS earned less, but they are still declaring special divd to shareholder -
im not sure about the frequency during peak hours but during non-peak hours its about 6min per train. lol.
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I'm neutral to any increase or decrease in frequencies, because the train eventually comes; a couple of minutes more don't hurt.Originally posted by TIB1224Y:I guess we have to be quite appreciative at times. Of course the frequency cannot be world class, but for Sg its like so much for that we pay for.
I don't know what happened here and in the bus forum for the past week, but I think at times it can be frustrating for the passengers to wait for too long. Lets say if off peak frequencies are like five minutes per train, would you agree to it?
Tokyo's Ginza line (most busy line in Tokyo) has peak frequency of one minute and half, and thats one timing we can head towards for peak hours, and we are running on auto systems for pleasant days (SMRT) while they are running manual operations...
SMRT's peak frequencies are about 2.5 minutes (Actually between 1 to 4). -
NEL mostly crowded in the middle cabin one...if u go to the top or the last cabin, its not that bad.
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There's actually a trick to find out which part of the train is less crowded.Originally posted by Y_Shun:NEL mostly crowded in the middle cabin one...if u go to the top or the last cabin, its not that bad.
Things to look out:
Position of lift
Position of escalator
Any maintenance of escalators
Position of marble seats
The main thing that revolves around these clues are that Singaporeans are lazy to walk too far. -
as a matter of fact, the NEL trains are very very crowded in the morning.Originally posted by Oceane:I'm neutral to any increase or decrease in frequencies, because the train eventually comes; a couple of minutes more don't hurt.
SMRT's peak frequencies are about 2.5 minutes (Actually between 1 to 4).
there was this week when i took NEL on the way to school and it coincided with the working peak hour.
boy, the waiting time was a full 5 mins (compared to around 2 mins on EWL and NSL?). nvm. luckily i live in sengkang cos the train is not that packed yet (but still quite a lot of people). as it goes to kovan, hougang, the train just gets increasingly packed and it's not only around those areas near the escalators.
by the time i reach potong pasir, i literally have to fight my way to the door. it's just that packed.
not really wishing for frequencies of as low as 1.5 mins, but 3 mins would be decent. and regarding the letter about ppl stumbling cos they never have hold any grab poles. the sad fact is, when the train is that packed, i would like to see you try to grab one of the poles if your hands are not that long or you are not that tall.
i think that the singapore mrt system is decent but there are certainly areas to improve on.
and it's also terribly unfair for those NEL commuters to have a longer peak hour waiting time compared to NSL/EWL while they pay more (due to the fact that it's fully automated and it costs more to operate even though no one put a gun to their heads and demand that it be the 'first fully automated heavy rail system in the world')
just my 2 cents. -
I fully agree about the trains at Boon Keng... Even when I board at Hougang, the trains are rather packed. Having to wait for 6 mins for the next train, then 6 mins again for the next train, and wait again..., doesn't help (at Boon Keng) because it will be just as packed.
If you see the Metro at Paris, the trains comes at 2 mins interval. At peak hours, the 2 mins trains are still as packed, but not as packed to the point at Boon Keng where people cannot get on.
If you think carefully, bus routes were changed to make people take NEL. What happens now? People are forced to take only NEL because there are no longer any choice for them to choose to take a bus instead. -
I think that people here might be expecting a lot since they are used to it. These people need a working vacation to other countries. While RpaidKL does an okay job with its train lines, let them try taking a line which is over capacity by 40% and has trains less than 50% the size of our MRT. When I was working there, there were times I needed to wait for 4 trains to pass before being able to board.
Singapore's transport services are good. They should appreciate what they have rather than finding fault with every single thing there is to nit-pick at. Granted, every system has things which can be improved on.
SMRT's peak-hour frequency is good at 1 to 2 minutes on the EWL. However, this is needed as by the time an eastbound train comes to Clementi, its quite packed with hardly any room to board unless people get off. To compare that to NEL, where it only seems to be impossible to board at Potong Pasir onwards, that's not that bad. At least Dover station opens on the side which is rarely used which helps with the traffic flow on board the train.
If more stations were built like Dover and Braddell, I think the flow of passengers might be better. With an island platform at each station, everyone crowds around the set of doors that will open.
I do think, however, that NEL frequencies would do better to be improved. Maybe for a start from 6 minutes to 4 at peak hours and gradually lowering it down to 3 or even 3 minutes. The system is capable of such as a family friend did say that LTA/SBS has tested the system at 2 minute frequencies. RapidKL operates their automated line at 90 second frequencies at times during peak hours.
Interior design has room for improvement on future rolling stock. I'm glad the new refurbished Rotem trains have a better design with the straps lining both rows of seats allowing at least two rows of people to hold onto something. Compared to the newest Kinki-Sharyo cars (the original Black rolling stock), they only have 6 straps in the middle of a row of seats. The older lines had at least 12. Having additional straps and poles does help when the trains are crowded.
A possibility to reducing crowds on lines in the future would be to build parallel lines as in New York. However, I don't think it is economically feasible for the moment. Hopefully the circle line helps when it opens, but for peak hours, I doubt it will as most people are headed to the CBD which the circle line orbits around and only enters once instead of cutting across it like the radial lines. -
I wonder how it would have been if SMRT had subway monopoly instead.
BTW, if you still want to debate about SMRT area residents being ignored, do it here. -
Terrible! I was onboard a NSL train at Jurong East. When the Boon LAy bound train arrived, the driver shut the doors and leave without picking up the passengers arriving at Westbound side.
Same Case happen to CGL. The train to Changi left the station without picking up passengers from the East Bound Platform. -
Originally posted by Oceane:
Is this the standard MRT operators strive to be if they want to be the backbone of public transport? If not then please bring back those express buses along NSL!
My thoughts: How short do you want? Is waiting for a train longer than waiting for a bus? #2:
I think it's fair and legitimate.
The MRT CEO does not take the MRT, just like the NTUC-DELGRO CEO does not take taxis. How could they really appreciate the problems with their business? As with a lot of CEOs in Singapore, they have risen to the level of inefficiency!
My thoughts: This guy is talking rubbish. #3:
NEL is no longer empty nowadays. Can't they afford to put in a few more peak hour runs?
North East line is always empty except during the peak hours. How will they make profit if they increase the frequency of the trains?
My thoughts: Good, at least there is one appreciative commuter here. #4:It is always about MONEY,
Public transport is no longer public anymore, because the public who uses it does not have a say anymore. Since the companies are privitised, I think they might as well end up being just another form of 'private transport'.
never about SERVICE.
Live with it.
My thoughts: Since you don't like SERVICE, then go buy your own car! Why are you barking like a mad dog here? -
Actually, it is not about auto or manual. (Of cos SMRT only allowed 1½-min if it's auto cos they trust computers to do the job.)Originally posted by TIB1224Y:Tokyo's Ginza line (most busy line in Tokyo) has peak frequency of one minute and half, and thats one timing we can head towards for peak hours, and we are running on auto systems for pleasant days (SMRT) while they are running manual operations...
The 1½-minute came about due to the ATP. Any faster, and you're too close to the next train.
I have not taken any photos of rush hour in Tokyo previously (I did take trains to elsewhere and I'll just say, express train runs really make a difference), so maybe the next time I go I will have to. -
So if it's manual the train can come nose to nose?Originally posted by ^tamago^:Actually, it is not about auto or manual. (Of cos SMRT only allowed 1½-min if it's auto cos they trust computers to do the job.)
The 1½-minute came about due to the ATP. Any faster, and you're too close to the next train.
I have not taken any photos of rush hour in Tokyo previously (I did take trains to elsewhere and I'll just say, express train runs really make a difference), so maybe the next time I go I will have to.
I wonder what will happen if the computer fails... -
cannot. u noe coded manual right? ATP works regardless of AM or CM.Originally posted by Oceane:So if it's manual the train can come nose to nose?
I wonder what will happen if the computer fails...
if computer fails either the whole system paralyse or you can proceed at RM (<18km/h).