Reader Response Draft 2

In the article, “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system.”, Lee (2015) has stated that Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, thought highly of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and suggested that local transportation sectors should use MTRC as a guideline for its “reliability standards”. Based on MTR’s and SMRT’s  annual reports, comparing Hong Kong to Singapore, New York and London, Hong Kong’s subway system yields the highest “system’s farebox recovery ratio”. Looking at both the MTR and SMRT’s railway systems, the length of MTR’s railway surpasses SMRT’s by 59km. The punctuality of SMRT trains is 3.9% lesser than MTR even though both countries face the same amount of significant hold ups. Looking at the expenditure of profits on enhancing train systems, MTR invested a larger amount of their earnings compared to SMRT. MTR also ensures that their passengers enjoy a safe and smooth ride by having much higher inspection frequency compared to SMRT and being meticulous in examining the railway lines. MTRC aims to rectify any issues or faults that arises under two minutes with the introduction of the “Super Operations Control Centre” which oversees the entire railway system, resolving emergencies with their fast reaction.

Looking at the comparisons between Hong Kong’s MTR and Singapore’s SMRT, there are many aspects which SMRT can learn from MTR and improve on. One of it is for SMRT to form a rapid response team, implement crowd control plans and training to improve efficiency during breakdowns.

In order for SMRT to swiftly solve breakdown faults and redirect commuters to travelling alternatives, staff need to be deployed as soon as possible to affected areas and carry out their assigned duties promptly. As mentioned in the MTR Sustainability Report 2016, MTR formed multiple rapid response units with different specialisations such as the Infrastructure Maintenance Rapid Response Unit, Rolling Stock Rapid Response Unit and the Customer Service Support Team (CSST). Teams are deployed immediately when there are issues and perform their duties simultaneously so that train services can be resumed. Although SMRT makes use of various real time monitoring systems, they have to recall staff from various departments and other stations to provide support at the affect stations through the command centre. This takes time for their staff to assemble and relay instructions, hence delaying service recovery. Training and forming specialized teams will help prepare for future problems, respond faster and also build up an extensive command tree to improve communication and efficiency.

Secondly, being able to redirect commuters to the shuttle bus services clearly in an orderly manner is also crucial in handling train disruptions so that they can continue on their journey and allow technical staff to conduct the necessary checks. In the article, “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system.”, Lee (2015) noted that MTR provides shuttle bus for commuters when needed. In the article Understanding Our Crowd Management Measures, MTR stated various crowd control measures which they execute correspondingly to the situation. They also make use of queue barriers and staff carrying sign boards to indicate shuttle bus queue lines so that commuters know where to queue for buses. In the news article 'Can't you use GPS?': A train delay, a bus ride gone south and a day to remember, Ong (2017) stated that during the train delay, the SMRT shuttle bus services were lacking signage which caused confusion when queuing. From this, it is clear that SMRT needs to improve further on crowd controlling.

I believe that by forming specialized teams will help prepare for future problems, respond faster and also build up an extensive command tree to improve communication and efficiency, giving commuters quality service

Reference

Lee, Min Kok (2015, October 29). “Dubbed 'the Best in Class': 6 Things about Hong Kong's MTR Rail System.” The Straits Times, retrieved September 14, 2017, from

www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/dubbed-the-best-in-class-6-things-about-hong-kongs-mtr-rail-system.

Mass Transit Railway (2016). Sustainability Report 2016, retrieved from

http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/corporate/sustainability/2016rpt/pdf/Customers.pdf

Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (2015, November 12). SMRT Maintenance Operation Centre Improving Rail Reliability, retrieved from
http://blog.smrt.com.sg/smrt-maintenance-operation-centre-improving-rail-reliability/

Lee, Ling Wee (2017,April 7). All-of-SMRT Approach to keeping MRT Train Services Moving, retrieved from
http://blog.smrt.com.sg/all-of-smrt-approach-to-keeping-mrt-train-services-moving/

Mass Transit Railway (n.d.). Understanding Our Crowd Management Measures, retrieved September 17, 2017, from
http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/main/crowd_control.html

Ong, Justin (2017, August 19). 'Can't you use GPS?': A train delay, a bus ride gone south and a day to remember, retrieved September 18, 2017 from
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/can-t-you-use-gps-a-train-delay-a-bus-ride-gone-south-and-a-day-9134672