Summary draft 1B

In the article “TRAINS ON THE NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST LINES SAFE FOR SERVICE”, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) (2016) wrote that the trains that have been in the media spotlight are safe for service. According to LTA, all new trains are tested before they are put into service. For defective trains, immediate action was taken to prevent defects from resurfacing during train operation. Hairline cracks that were discovered during inspection were confirmed to not affect operational safety. Nevertheless, to ensure that there are sufficient trains for commuters, all affected trains were sent back, one at a time, for rectification. Stringent checks would also be performed regularly to ensure operational safety of all trains.

LTA should have further investigated if purchasing trains which are manufactured by CSR Sifang could have been the most affordable and ideal choice.

Singaporeans rely highly on public transport to travel around. To meet its growing demand, LTA had to order new trains for the North-South-East-West line (NSEWL).  Before the purchase of the C151A trains, there were 106 trains in operation mainly from Japan contract named C151, C751B and Germany contract named C651. The trains were fully manufactured and designed in their country of origin.

The article mentions that ‘these hairline cracks were due to localised impurity in the aluminium car-body material’ but the article fails to mention who is responsible for these hairline cracks. When the hairline cracks were discovered, LTA took immediate response and had the entire body changed of each affected trains as it was still under warranty. As sending back all 26 trains in one shot would cause a massive shortage of trains, LTA decided to send the trains one at a time. Though the trains had defects, it was still safe for commuters to travel.

Moreover, the hairline cracks were not only the major issue caused by C151A trains. On 17 December 2011, seven SMRT trains stalled on the North South Line causing the worst disruption in the entire SMRT history. The disruption across 12 stations from Marina Bay to Ang Mo Kio station started at 6.50am and lasted for at least seven hours, affecting at least 94,000 commuters. The main cause of the stalling of the trains was damage to their Current Collector Device (CCD) ‘shoes’ due to sagging of the ‘third rail’ which supplies electrical power to the trains.

Although the C151A, from CSR Sifang, trains have caused many problems, LTA has still persisted on buying trains from KHI-CSR. LTA purchased 57 new trains from the company. The contract names are C151B and C151C which would enter service from 2016 onwards. Moreover, the Thomson Line trains (Contract T251) are also ordered from KHI-CSR as well. LTA purchased 91 trains at the price of $749 million.

Although Singapore has one of the best city train network in the world, these are some of the minor/major issues that may lower the standard of quality. LTA should do their best to avoid these incidents from re-occurring again and having a smooth journey for its commuters.

TRAINS ON THE NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST LINES SAFE FOR SERVICE (2016, July 6). In LTA news page. Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=0f8b1220-0289-4bef-99c9b2455f17a66c#_ftn1

KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD/CSR QINGDAO SIFANG CO. LTD/KAWASAKI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. CONSORTIUM AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS CONTRACT WORTH $749 MILLION (2014, MAY 28). In LTA news page. Retrieved from https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=f0b205a6-69ab-49b0-b94d-65384ee5e5c0

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO THE DISRUPTION OF MRT TRAIN SERVICES ON 15 AND 17 DECEMBER 2011. (2012). Retrieved July 3 2012, from 

http://www.mot.gov.sg/news/COI%20report%20-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf

Gwyn Topham. (2014, Febuary 18) Ten of the best city train networks – in pictures. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/feb/18/ten-best-city-train-networks-in-pictures

Chew Hui Min (2015, July 8) Power shutdown at North-South, East-West lines: Past major train disruptions. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/power-shutdown-at-north-south-east-west-lines-past-major-train-disruptions

Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore). (2016), from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Rapid_Transit_(Singapore)