In the online news release
“Trains On The North-South And East-West Lines Safe For Service” (2016) from
the Land Transport Authority(LTA) website, LTA would like to assure the public
that the 26 North-South and East-West Line trains are safe for operation.
LTA stated that all new trains
have to undergo stringent inspections before they were put into service. The
inspections highlighted several issues found within some of the trains, such as
faulty battery and cracks of the draught screen. Subsequently, these issues
were immediately rectified by the manufacturer. The discovery of hairline
cracks on the exterior of the car-body bolster were made known during a regular
inspection. This prompt LTA to conduct further investigation which concluded
that there were no other cracks found on other parts of the train. Apart from
checks by internal staffs, independent experts were engaged to access the
hairline cracks whom deem operation safe. Meanwhile, defective trains were sent
back to the factory for repair. Proactive inspections will be carried out by
both the LTA and the contractor to ensure trains are safe for operation.
Despite LTA's effort
to immediately rectify any faults found during the testing and inspections
phase, I believe that LTA could increase the transparency regarding the defects
faced.
With reference to the online
article by FactWire, an investigative news agency, it was revealed that the
details of the defective trains were not made known to the public earlier. For example, the hairline cracks on the
bolster of the China-made C151A trains were already noticed in 2013 but it was
not brought out until recently in July 2016. In addition to the cracks, there
were also past issues on explosion of China uninterruptible power supply
batteries and the shattering of glass panels due to poor workmanship.
Moving on, FactWire also reported
that the faulty trains were secretly bought back to CSR Sifang for repairs. The
news agency saw two faulty trains that was covered in green canvas being sent
out from Bishan depot. According to Channel NewsAsia, there was even a video
uploaded by FactWire showing the faulty trains being conveyed to Jurong port and
ready to be shipped out to China. To further support their claim, reporters made
a trip to the factory of CSR Sifang in China and noticed the trains were
covered in green canvas similar to the ones from Singapore.
Lastly, from TheOnlineCitizen in response to FactWire’s
report, there have been past incidents on SMRT that was not explained clearly.
For example, since the incident of the shattering glass in one of carriages on
5th June 2015, there have been no further updates by SMRT or LTA.
Transport Minister, Mr Khaw Boon
Wan highlighted the importance of being transparent to the public at all times.
He mentioned that by sharing first-hand information to the public, public
communication could have been better. In
my opinion, I agree with him as I feel that as a public transport operator, it
is irresponsible to put commuters at risk by not providing them with any
information of the problems during the testing phase. With the lack of
transparency exposed, I believe that public confidence has already been
affected because of the integrity of LTA despite their claims made to assure
public that the 26 trains were safe for service.
In conclusion, LTA should work closely with SMRT and the respective organisations to report future incidents timely and accurately to the public.
In conclusion, LTA should work closely with SMRT and the respective organisations to report future incidents timely and accurately to the public.
References
TRAINS ON THE NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST
WEST LINES SAFE FOR SERVICE (2016, July 6). Retrieved from
Staff Reporters,
FactWire. (2016, July 5). China manufacturer for MTR secretly recalls 35 SMRT
subway trains after cracks found. Retrieved from https://www.factwire.news/en/MTR-securetly-recall.html
Xu,Terry. (2016, July 5). Did SMRT and LTA hide defects of China
manufactured trains? Retrieved from http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2016/07/05/did-smrt-and-lta-hide-defects-of-china-manufactured-trains/
Lim, Adrian. (2016, July 13). Why
hairline cracks not made public. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/why-hairline-cracks-not-made-public
