East-West Line disruption: Apologies accepted

There is a telling difference between the way that the Transport Ministry handled MRT breakdowns in 2017 and now, seven years later. Different eras, different Transport Ministers at the helm and different public attitudes.

The year 2017 saw two unforgettable MRT incidents. First, there was the nightmarish Bishan train tunnel flooding.

Wikipedia: “On the evening of 7 October 2017, the tunnels along the North-South MRT line were flooded as a result of a malfunctioned pump, causing a 20-hour disruption.”

The next morning, the press went to town with the iconic picture of a train submerged in the Bishan MRT tunnel.

As if this was not enough embarrassment for the then Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, a train collided with another on 15 Nov 2017 at Joo Koon station. Twenty-eight people were injured.

I would say 2017 was a low point in MRT history.

The MRT’s apparent mess had been in the making for quite a while, since 2010 or earlier. The train operator seemed more keen on commercial pursuits and was not spending enough time on the system’s technical aspects.

Khaw was assigned to fix the MRT. He did his job, though he had to contend with a not-too-supportive public. But that was never an issue for him. He was interested only in results.

That was Khaw Boon Wan in 2017, just seven years ago, but it was a different time. With the Lee Kuan Yew effect prevailing in the period after his passing in 2015, voters were prepared to cut the government some slack, fortunately for the straight-talking Khaw.

But certainly not today. No more stalling, no cover-up, or softshell will be tolerated.

This time, a faulty train on the East-West line left a trail of destruction and disrupted services since Sept 25 for 1.3 million passengers. Almost immediately, with all the lessons learnt by the earlier team of 2017, the SMRT/LTA did a post-incident protocol 101.

Announcements, explanations, updates, bridging buses, and the complete works.

And finally, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat gave his apology: “On behalf of the One Transport family, I would like to offer our sincere apologies to all our commuters for all the disruption. Our workers are doing their best to safely restore services as soon as possible.”

Sorry, is NOT the hardest thing to do.

Tan Bah Bah is a former senior leader writer with The Straits Times. He was also managing editor of a magazine publishing company