SMRT

[CityFarmer]

SMRT is having issue with not only the old lines, but the new line as well. SMRT might need to set up substantial reserve for penalties, base on its failure rate. Shareholders have voted their confidence, with share price dropped to near $1 recently.

(not vested)

Circle Line hit by third MRT signalling fault in four days

SINGAPORE — Train services on the Circle Line slowed to a crawl during the rush-hour commute yesterday, as another signalling fault — the third in four days — hit the MRT network.

Operator SMRT said train services on the line were affected between 6am to 9am yesterday, after a defective signal connector was found between Mountbatten and Stadium MRT stations. This added about 20 minutes of travelling time for commuters, as trains ran at slower speeds and SMRT engineers tried to rectify the fault. SMRT spokesperson Alina Boey said additional trains were deployed to cope with the crowd build-up along the line.

On Monday, a track circuit failure between Yew Tee and Kranji stations caused trains to slow down, resulting in commuters being late for work and school. The affected commuters included some Republic Polytechnic and Nanyang Polytechnic students who were late for their examinations.

The next evening, a fault on the signal code generator that provides the train with speed codes affected southbound services between Ang Mo Kio and Marina Bay stations.

The Land Transport Authority yesterday reiterated that train slowdowns could result in penalties being imposed on the rail operator. The authority would need to investigate whether the operator had breached any regulatory provisions, such as maintenance and incident management requirements, a spokesperson said. Sumita Sreedharan

Ref: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/cir...-four-days

[Investmentrealm]

Penalties are useless. It had proven so. It was a decade old problem due to lack of maintenance when everything was still running fine. SMRT main focus back then was to earn more more more money for shareholders, to justify the pay for the then CEO.
Just like buying insurance. You don't buy after you are sick. You buy before you are sick.

[specuvestor]

^^^ Agreed, question is now what is the PV of these contingent liabilities and increased maintenance capex

[AlphaQuant]

i was quite stunned on reading that the signal system will take 2 years to be upgraded. Although I am not in the transport engineering field, it sounds rather long to me.

I think the problem is that noone is actually taking full responsibility of the entire problem. So LTA is buying more buses, SMRT is upgrading the signals, but what else is wrong? What exactly is the deadline by which the whole set of issues are resolved? I get the feeling that SMRT doesn't feel entirely apologetic abt the whole issue - in fact the whole demeanour of Desmond Kuek during all the press conferences does not strike me as someone sweating to solve the issue. Essentially, everyone's problem is noone's problem. What is needed, is someone like Mario Draghi's reassurance to the markets "We will do whatever it takes to save the euro, and trust me, it will be enough".

Desperate times require great leaders, and unfortunately i don't see anyone doing that.

[CityFarmer]

i was quite stunned on reading that the signal system will take 2 years to be upgraded. Although I am not in the transport engineering field, it sounds rather long to me.

I think the problem is that noone is actually taking full responsibility of the entire problem. So LTA is buying more buses, SMRT is upgrading the signals, but what else is wrong? What exactly is the deadline by which the whole set of issues are resolved? I get the feeling that SMRT doesn't feel entirely apologetic abt the whole issue - in fact the whole demeanour of Desmond Kuek during all the press conferences does not strike me as someone sweating to solve the issue. Essentially, everyone's problem is noone's problem. What is needed, is someone like Mario Draghi's reassurance to the markets "We will do whatever it takes to save the euro, and trust me, it will be enough".

Desperate times require great leaders, and unfortunately i don't see anyone doing that.

Mission-critical system like MRT signalling system take year to install, test and commission. It is more so for the scale and on live system. IMO, two years to replace the signalling system with no interruption to operation, including installing, testing, and commissioning is reasonable, even under expedited schedule.

[Caelitus]

I concur with Cityfarmer. I am an engineer in the aviation sector. With the scale of their operations and the limited maintenance window, phasing in the upgrade over time is reasonable. They may have to close the lines earlier if the bigger works in the future are due.

[valueinvestor]

Many of my engineer friends told me if they need 2 years to fix this problem then they are too unprofessional. Well what can we expect from a top management team make up by ex Army personnel ?

[Caelitus]

Many of my engineer friends told me if they need 2 years to fix this problem then they are too unprofessional. Well what can we expect from a top management team make up by ex Army personnel ?

I am keen to hear their professional view on the induction of such a system. If it is doable, we should highlight it to SMRT. Time and money will be saved for this listed company and not to mention a more reliable transport network. I will be happy to facilitate it.

I commute using public transport so it benefits me too.

[valueinvestor]

Many of my engineer friends told me if they need 2 years to fix this problem then they are too unprofessional. Well what can we expect from a top management team make up by ex Army personnel ?

I am keen to hear their professional view on the induction of such a system. If it is doable, we should highlight it to SMRT. Time and money will be saved for this listed company and not to mention a more reliable transport network. I will be happy to facilitate it.

I commute using public transport so it benefits me too.

Just called two of them and they told me they are shareholders of SMRT and have constant and direct communications with the management of SMRT , they prefer to talk to somebodies who have influence in decision making in the company itself , rather than suggesting to someone who is a nobody in forum. They also told me they don't waste time in forum like you and me. They also said you can contact SMRT and give them your professional advice , it is beneficial to all shareholders and commuter.

[freedom]

It is in the self-interest of governments to treat capital providers in a manner that will ensure the continued flow of funds to essential projects. It is meanwhile in our self-interest to conduct our operations in a way that earns the approval of our regulators and the people they represent.

a quote from Mr. Buffett's letter to shareholders.

Maybe the government should learn a thing or two from Mr. Buffett. Treating capital providers bad will not result in any good prospect for the highly-regulated transport market.