1/10/2012

The blessing of SMRT breakdowns

In every dark cloud there is a silver lining. And the SMRT fiasco is no exception. Many good things came out from it. Never did the authority know that there were so many faults and maintenance issues that need to be rectified and put right. Didn’t the authority know that there are so many emergency procedures that were put to a real test and found wanting. It was all a big lapse.

Nevermind, it is better that it happened in a case like this than a real and nasty one and caught everyone with his pants down. We were given time, grace, to put things right. The only thing we do not want it to happen again is that another incident blows up and a spate of committees and inquiry boards are formed again to find out what went wrong and how to put them right again. Let this be the early warning, a concession given, an opportunity to clear the road blocks and put things in order.

A pleasant point to note after listening to Tuck Yew’s speech in Parliament is that our train cabins are built like a space capsule, insulated. Commuters are safe inside if there is poison gas attack from the outside. The capsule is sealed and the poison gas would not get in. I think the ventilation must also be circulating air that is in the cabin and not from the outside.

As to the suggestion by Yaw Shin Leong to consider having ventilation windows that could be opened by the commuters during an emergency is a questionable thing. Commuters who are suffocating inside a train cabin could be tempted to open the vent without knowing that there were toxic and poisonous gas outside.

This train capsule is an added protection for the commuters. Now I know how safe I am when taking the train.

11 comments:

leo lorenzo said...

So we are ready for terrorist attack? That good news? Why would they want to attack a tiny red dot?

leo lorenzo said...

So we are ready for terrorist attack? That good news? Why would they want to attack a tiny red dot?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Hi leo, welcome to the blog.

Good question.

Anonymous said...

An attack on Singapore may not necessarily mean an intention to occupy the tiny dot.
IT MAYBE AND IS LIKELY TO BE, JUST TO RID A SPECIES THE ATTACKER FINDS DETESTABLE.

Anonymous said...

That's no right or wrong answer to sealing the train compartment, the Tokyo Sarin attack came from within the trains!

Richard

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Thanks Richard. That's the most enlightening answer. I would expect anyone in the train business to know this.

And welcome to the blog.

The said...

Great. What if the sarin gas is dumped INSIDE the train cabins?

The said...

Great. What if the sarin gas is dumped INSIDE the train cabins?

Anonymous said...

SOP for train drivers is not to open the door unless told by higher authority. And don't anyone break the windows or doors. That is vandalism.

Anonymous said...

Seal , can die ; don't seal , also can die. Hey .... typical predicament of a typical sinkie innit ??

Anonymous said...

We need to put a signage in the MRT trains.

"In case of Sarin Gas inside the train, please await for further instructions from your sms/twitter"

The guy who broke the MRT window.
At least one Singaporean still can think.
Unlike the rest of the sheeple who sat around in the dark waiting for the authorities to help them.

Sort of like all Singaporeans nowadays.
Sitting around waiting for the authorities to help them.
While we flood and get our CPF money withheld from us.

Wake up!
GE 2016.
Vote wisely!