The PAP government has not been upfront with MRT commuters and clearly doesn’t know when regular and major disruptions will be history.
PAP ministers have tried to hoodwink commuters with propaganda, making all sorts of ludicrous claims about increased commuter satisfaction.
For example, CNA published this piece of fake news:
PTC members are of course PAP-approved.
A year earlier on, another reliable source of fake news also helped it political master mask underlying issues with these claims by LTA:
(ST pai seh to use “major” disruptions, amended to “big”)
LTA and MOT in cahoots with PTC should be held accountable for spreading fake news. This is because our MRT system is already in ICU.
No MRT system in the world needs to be shut down for extended periods as long as ours and this is indicative of unresolved systemic failure.
In December last year, a number of MRT stations had required full-day closure as well as early closure and late opening.
Since then, the number of stations requiring full-day closure has increased. This mother of all major disruptions looks set to be the new normal for the entire 2018.
As confirmed by SMRT and LTA: “The early closures and late opening of MRT stations along the North-South and East-West lines (NSEWL) will continue beyond June.”
Instead of disclosing a time frame to right our broken MRT system, commuters only receive assurance of impending disruptions from the MOT minister: (Today)
The likelihood of an impending system collapse is increasing by the day because expansion plans were unlikely to have been taken into account when the system was constructed. Poor maintenance and constant ‘upgrading’ to introduce new features may have pushed the system to its limits.
Besides PAP, which government has underestimated the power supply to its MRT system, requiring a $500 million upgrade?
If the underlying issues are not very serious, Khaw’s ‘assurance’ of reliability should not be some vague statement.
Khaw: ” “ … until all the ageing assets are fully replaced and upgraded, we may still encounter some delays or disruptions”.
What if major disruptions persist – or even worsen – after the replacement and upgrading of all ageing assets?
Is there a possibility that the entire NSEWL many need to undergo a multi-year overhaul, similar to the Bukit Panjang LRT?
From all the vague statements by SMRT, LTA, MOT and ministers as well as the unaddressed issue of accountability, it appears that our MRT system will likely stay in ICU for good.