SMRT hit a new-low again with the 4th train breakdown incident in a single week today (Apr 3rd). At around 12pm noontime today, trains servicing between Yishun and Bishan faced a delay of at least 30 minutes.
According to SMRT, a train had stalled due to a power fault and that it had to be pushed out by another train. The fault was cleared some half an hour later at around 12.37pm.
This is the 4th incident following two disruptions last Tuesday (Mar 28) and a disastrous one on last Thursday (Mar 30) affecting over 100,000 commuters.
Despite the worsening service standards, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan told Singaporeans to be prepared for a fare hike. SMRT became profitable after the government bailed out the company with a billion dollar offer, buying off the loss-making physical assets and infrastructures under a new contracting model. The legalised corruption however ensures that SMRT and SBS Transit will have their profits safeguarded, as the two were given the lucrative function of the transport business by managing the human resources of train operations.
The CEO of SMRT, Desmond Kuek, is a former army general and a crony of the ruling party government. The S$1.87 million-dollar CEO is one of the most well-paid CEOs in Singapore despite charting a poorer performance record than his predecessor Saw Phaik Hwa.