MRT/LRT News

[babystan03]

^
I think even if ALL the signs have been "upgraded" to multilingual, some elderly will still have problems with finding the exit..........can't please everyone one...... But at least we see that they are trying to improve on things.......

[ignoramus]

2.2m is a high price to pay for helping just that bit of the population who might not even in a positive way helped... after all, like what i said earlier, they still will not be able to find their way of the stations...

and to help a small proportion of the population who have yet to be able to read and understand english signs well, of which is getting smaller... 2.2m is a high price...

instead, the new multilingual signs will to a certain extent ''mess up'' things as in the rest of the population when looking at signs will have to look at the sign and focus their eyes on for instance the english language one to find out what it means...
Previously, they could just look to a sign and just get the idea of what that sign means...cause signs are meant to point you to where you want to go in the quickest time possible...not for you to have to actually look through them...

But I guess LTA and the PM have to do this to please some people... but then again this might actually help the elderly perhaps...

An weird analogy
''Its like if you are going to a buffet later an hour later what's the point of eating a full meal an hr before just because you are feeling a bit hungry...''

[babystan03]

^
Actually I think it can help a bit in tourism also.......Chinese and Indian tourist are on the rise.......

Secondly, I dun think it will "mess" up the signage unless we dun understand whats on it.........

Thirdly, I think we should spend this 2.2m even if its mainly for the elderly, cos if it was not for them, we might not even see this 2.2m in the first place......

[ignoramus]

hmm.... lets just see how they go about implementing this... cause when they talk about implementing signs in all languages it kinda reminds me of a mess...as with what the authorities had advocated earlier that it would create...(after all, i think singapore is the only country where there is a need for signs in 3 different languages everywhere on the rail network, so they have got to go about doing this in a orderly manner or it will turn out bad). all the best for LTA......

[heirloom]

you have to put 2.2 million into context.. it's not just for one person, but a whole population + tourists... it's not even a dollar person in singapore! 5000 signs - that would be about $400+ per sign? i dont think you can go any lower than that...

[babystan03]

AUG 28, 2004
Punggol LRT on track

THE Land Transport Authority will hand over the Punggol Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system to SBS Transit to run it by the end of this year, as scheduled.

It is currently testing the signalling and communications equipment of the 15-station system, which cost $354 million to build.

The system is due to open next year, but as SBS Transit will have to conduct trial runs after taking over, the exact date will be determined by the transport operator.

The organisation also runs the North-East Line and Sengkang LRT system.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

[babystan03]

The New Paper - 29 Aug 2004

HE HAS HIS OWN MRT GUIDE

He can't read the MRT signs which are all in English. So...

By Alvin Chiang

HE never leaves home without his notebook.

Not when he has to take the MRT.

It's his very own MRT guide, you see.

Mr Yin Fook Choi, 78, can't read or write English.

But he copied the alphanumeric codes - the letters and numbers - for each station.

And he found out the names of the stations from Chinese newspapers, and wrote them down in Chinese in his notebook.

So when the train stops at a station, he looks at its code number, consults his little notebook, and knows which station it is.

For example, EW1 is Pasir Ris station.

Other elderly folk are less adventurous.

Madam Fan Ah Mai, 76, wouldn't be able to go anywhere at all.

The elderly spinster, who's his cousin, dares not travel alone.

On her own, she would go only as far as the coffeeshop near her one-room flat at Bendemeer Road.

She does not know how to use public transport.

She said in Cantonese: 'I can't go out by myself because I don't understand how the MRT works. All the signs are in English.'

So Mr Yin, a former tour bus driver, travels from his flat in Tanjong Pagar every day - to take her to the doctor.

Madam Fan has to visit doctors at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Singapore General Hospital every day because she has knee and back problems.

She fell and broke her leg last year. And then in April, she started having backaches and had difficulty walking.

Mr Yin said: 'I take her where she needs to go. She can't get around by herself. Sometimes we take taxi, sometimes we take the MRT.

'If I'm late or cannot make it for some reason, she'll wait for me until I'm free.'

Are there guides available for non-English users?

The New Paper showed Madam Fan a TransitLink pamphlet which showed a map of all the stations.

The pamphlet had the names and alphanumeric codes of different stations and used different colours to represent different directional lines.

For example, EW7 is the Eunos station and the North-South line is represented by a red line.

That's to help those who do not understand English, said the LTA. (See report below.)

But Madam Fan shook her head when she saw the pamphlet. As the station names were in English, the map meant nothing to her.

WOULD GET LOST

She would be lost if she were to take the train herself.

Currently, except for stations along the North-East line, all signs are in English.

But their problems are about to end.

At a press briefing yesterday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said there will be multi-lingual signs in all MRT stations by the end of 2005.

Signs in Tamil and Chinese will be introduced at entrances of MRT stations.

Maps and farecharts will be also become multi-lingual.

As many stations bear Malay names, like Aljunied and Tanah Merah, LTA said it would not be introducing Malay to the MRT map.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MULTI-LINGUAL SIGNS IN ALL MRT STATIONS BY THE END OF 2005

Why did it take so long to change?

THE big question on the minds of commuters is why only now?

After all, there were a number of letters written in the media in 2000 asking for signages in all languages.

Back then LTA rejected the suggestion, saying it might confuse passengers as 'the stations already carry many signs such as station names, road names and also names of important buildings'.

It added that the MRT system is 'based on visual symbols or graphics, a non-language form of communication to serve all passengers regardless of their literacy level or language proficiency'.

Then in 2001, LTA spent $3.9 million on new signs in all train stations, bus stops and taxi stands.

Still no multi-lingual signages.

Now LTA is saying it will spend $2.2 million to add Chinese and Tamil names to over 5,000 existing signs.

Miss Lynda See, 29, a secretary, said: 'This should have been done earlier because Singapore is multiracial. It would definitely have saved money and encourage more (elderly) people to take public transport.'

When asked, an LTA spokesman said: 'Public feedback received prior to 2001 and the expected enhancement of the MRT network were among the reasons for introducing the new signage system in 2001. We felt that the alphanumeric system was able to serve the majority of people.'

But from as far back as 1991, there was support from Members of Parliament and the public for multi-lingual signs to cater to less-educated older Singaporeans who have difficulty in English.

In fact, the present Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong suggested having four languages in signs for MRT stations and other public places during his first community visit.

Although multi-lingual signs started to show up in eight MRT stations a year later, Singaporeans have to wait until the end of 2005 to have these signs in all the MRT stations.

The public was told the simpler system of signs introduced in 2001 was needed because the rail network was going to be rapidly expanded.

The network will get more complex with the Punggol LRT and Circle Line .

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

[heirloom]

haha rapidly expanded indeed. 4 lines and they call it complicated?!

[babystan03]

Originally Posted by heirloom

haha rapidly expanded indeed. 4 lines and they call it complicated?!

Complicated for the old folks mah......

[babystan03]

AUG 31, 2004
All but 10 MRT stations to have lifts, ramps by March 2005

ALL but 10 Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations on the North-South and East-West lines will have facilities for the disabled and elderly by March next year.

Work on providing these facilities at the 10 - all underground - stopped in two months ago because contractor Hua Kok Realty ran into financial trouble.

It will resume in September under a new contractor and finish by the end of June 2006, six months behind schedule, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The affected stations are Tiong Bahru, Tanjong Pagar, Raffles Place, City Hall, Bugis, Lavender, Braddell, Newton, Orchard and Marina Bay.

The Government first announced plans to add lifts and ramps to 48 stations along the East-West and North-South lines in 1999.

As part of the project - one of the recommendations made by an inter-ministerial committee on an ageing population - some of the stations will also have new facilities, such as toilets for the disabled.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

[heirloom]

two more ppl died on the tracks today.... although i'm sad for those affected, i'm perversely happy that mrt is under so much pressure.

[redstone]

Just heard of it.Someone hit at Bukit Batok MRT, from another forum.

Forgot to watch the news tonight.

[huaiwei]

Latest News | Updated Aug 31, 9.00 pm (Singapore time)

1 woman dead, another hurt after being hit by trains in different MRT stations


DOUBLE MISHAP: Two women were hit by oncoming trains when they fell off the platforms at different MRT stations on Tuesday. The woman in the first incident, which occurred at Bukit Batok MRT station at around 1.50pm, died. The second woman was sent to the Singapore General Hospital for serious injuries. -- STEPHANIE YEOW

SINGAPORE -- Two women fell off platforms and were hit by trains in separate incidents several hours apart at different MRT stations on Tuesday, leaving one dead and another injured.

Train services were disrupted in both cases and thousands of commuters were affected.

In the first incident whichhappened around 1.50pm, Madam Low Suan Chu, 50, was killed when she fell off the platform at Bukit Batok MRT station and was hit by an oncoming train.

She was dragged under the train and suffered multiple fractures.

Police ruled out foul play and have classified the case as one of unnatural death.

Train services between Choa Chu Kang and Jurong East MRT stations were stopped temporarily, affecting 2,500 passengers. But the train services resumed at 2.40pm.

In the second incident which occurred at Redhill MRT station at about 7.45pm, a woman in her 40s fell off the east-bound platform and wound up being wedged between two train carriages

She has been sent to the Singapore General Hospital, where her condition is listed as critical.

Police are investigating the case.

The second incident caused more disruption as it happened during the evening rush hour.

About 4,600 passengers were affected when train services between Rehill and Outram Park stations was stopped for an hour.

Trains were turned around at Outram Park and Queenstown MRT stations, and SMRT deployed 24 buses to ferry passengers from Redhill to Queenstown, Tiong Bahru and Outram Park MRT stations.

Passengers who were unable to complete their journeys due to the disruptions can claim a full fare refund from the Passenger Service Centres in any of the 51 MRT stations within the next three days, said SMRT.

Tuesday's incidents bring to four the number of such cases in a month, and the second at Bukit Batok MRT.

On Aug 14, Mr Richard Chua fell on the tracks in the same station. He survived.

[heirloom]

this month is strange... 4 people in a month!?

[redstone]

Chinese Seventh Month?

Touch wood!

[heirloom]

nono... i dont believe uh... ghosts or whatever disembodied entities that have the ability to think exist

[babystan03]

Originally Posted by redstone

Chinese Seventh Month?

Touch wood!

Actually I somehow feel that this has something to do with it....haha...

[redstone]

Look at that horrible accident along NS Highway a few weeks ago.

Hit by car, flung out and dragged by another car! :o

[heirloom]

i wonder what mrt will do now... perhaps they will have to install doors on their above ground stations too...*air con*!!

[redstone]

Install low walls.Waist height with gates.

Sensors along the walls of the tracks, stops the train when something big crosses it.