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Singapore's subway restarts after major shutdown
Source: Agencies |
December 19, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SINGAPORE'S subway system restarted yesterday after a week of breakdowns inconvenienced hundreds of thousands of commuters and rattled a city-state that sells itself as having a world-class infrastructure.
All subway lines were running by noon yesterday after safety checks shut down service during the morning, operator SMRT Corp Ltd said.
The problems started with a 40-minute breakdown on Wednesday on the island's Circle line and escalated when the busy North-South line - which runs from downtown through the famed Orchard Road shopping strip and out to the suburbs - was shut for five hours on Thursday night and about seven hours on Saturday morning.
Another line, the East-West, also suffered shutdowns.
SMRT and government officials have struggled to pinpoint and fix the cause of the breakdowns and contain the ensuing commuter chaos in the worst systems failure in the subway's 24-year history. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the government will hold a public inquiry into the breakdowns and SMRT's response.
"Had it just been a one-off matter, I think the agencies can take care of it," Lee said. "But when the incidents happened again, and same thing, that meant it wasn't just a random thing, that something more basic has caused it and we haven't quite pinned it down yet."
The Straits Times said 127,000 commuters were affected on Thursday and 94,000 on Saturday. Travelers had to wait in long lines for hours for buses or taxis.
SMRT CEO Saw Phiak Hwa admitted her company wasn't properly prepared for the emergency.
"All the energy now is to ensure that it doesn't happen again, Saw said on Friday."
But happened again on Saturday, prompting about 80 people to protest at a downtown park and call for Saw's resignation.
All subway lines were running by noon yesterday after safety checks shut down service during the morning, operator SMRT Corp Ltd said.
The problems started with a 40-minute breakdown on Wednesday on the island's Circle line and escalated when the busy North-South line - which runs from downtown through the famed Orchard Road shopping strip and out to the suburbs - was shut for five hours on Thursday night and about seven hours on Saturday morning.
Another line, the East-West, also suffered shutdowns.
SMRT and government officials have struggled to pinpoint and fix the cause of the breakdowns and contain the ensuing commuter chaos in the worst systems failure in the subway's 24-year history. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the government will hold a public inquiry into the breakdowns and SMRT's response.
"Had it just been a one-off matter, I think the agencies can take care of it," Lee said. "But when the incidents happened again, and same thing, that meant it wasn't just a random thing, that something more basic has caused it and we haven't quite pinned it down yet."
The Straits Times said 127,000 commuters were affected on Thursday and 94,000 on Saturday. Travelers had to wait in long lines for hours for buses or taxis.
SMRT CEO Saw Phiak Hwa admitted her company wasn't properly prepared for the emergency.
"All the energy now is to ensure that it doesn't happen again, Saw said on Friday."
But happened again on Saturday, prompting about 80 people to protest at a downtown park and call for Saw's resignation.
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