Rats, and a double downer for SMRT

IT SEEMS that the gods of rail reliability are punishing SMRT today as a blackout hit not one, not two, but three MRT lines plus Bukit Panjang LRT yesterday at 7:53pm. The East-West Line from Buona Vista to Joo Koon and the North-South Line from Jurong East to Kranji were down for just over half an hour. The Circle Line from Caldecott to HarbourFront came back online at 9:32pm and Bukit Panjang LRT service was restored only at 10:12pm.

Then at 6:31am this morning, a traction power fault pulled the plug on North-South Line services between Kranji and Woodlands. SMRT got trains moving again at 6:49am and announced that everything was back to normal at 7:29am.

SMRT had, earlier yesterday, announced the findings of their Accident Review Panel on the deaths of two staff who were hit by a train while carrying out track maintenance. The panel is made up of the SMRT Board Risk Committee plus experts from Keppel Corporation, Transport for London, and a former employee of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway Corporation. The panel emphasised that existing protection mechanisms were “adequate” but were not followed in this incident. SMRT did not mention why staff were not following safety measures.

Something else that needs a task force – Singapore’s rat problems. National Environmental Agency (NEA) is piloting four areas: Redhill Close, Bedok Central, Clementi Ave 3, and Bangkit Road for what is calls a “holistic and coordinated effort” with town councils, eateries, and mall operators. Rat infestations in town council areas will also attract fines of $150 or $200. Seems a small amount for a large problem. What does this task force mean, really? As far as we can tell, the only difference is that all parties will coordinate their rat control plans. If we are only just figuring this out, then no wonder we are being overrun by rodents.

Who else is trying some overrunning? China has been in the spotlight for its attempt to divide Asean by getting Brunei, Laos, and Cambodia to agree unilaterally that South China Sea disputes were not between China and Asean as a whole. Laos and Cambodia don’t even have claims in the South China Sea. Three senior diplomats spoke against China’s move, including Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Ong Keng Yong and advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bilahari Kausikan.

Finally, some good news! Saiyidah Aisyah has became the first ever Singaporean rower to qualify for the Olympics. Her first-place finish in the 2,000m single sculls B Final earned her a seventh overall finish in the Fisa Asia and Oceania Continental Olympic Qualification Regatta. The SEA Games gold medalist now needs the endorsement of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and Singapore Rowing Association (SRA) to clear her path to Rio de Janeiro.

 

Featured image from TMG file. 

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