LTA may take action against SMRT for letting ACS (I) charter trains

SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is looking into taking action against SMRT, for letting Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) charter five of its trains to transport students and staff to the Schools National C Division rugby final match held today (Aug 26) at the National Stadium.

The public transport operator had failed to seek the necessary approval from the authorities, an LTA spokesperson said in response to media queries.

Under its licence to operate the Circle Line, SMRT must obtain approval if it wishes to provide train services that are not open to the public. “In this case, SMRT did not seek our approval before agreeing to provide the service. We are looking into the appropriate action to take. We have also reminded SMRT that its primary focus must be to ensure good service delivery to the commuting public at large,” the LTA spokesperson said.

TODAY understands that for all MRT lines, approval from the authorities is required if a public transport operator wishes to offer services beyond its core business of providing train services to the public.

When contacted, SMRT did not say if it knew that it had to seek approval. It had previously worked with schools in chartering trains to transport students for large-scale events over the years, including for the National Education Shows during National Day Parade rehearsals. Requests are reviewed on a case-by case basis and generally, the schools should be within walking distance to stations and the destination needs to be on the same train line.

SMRT also stressed that no passenger services were affected and train intervals were maintained at “normal service levels at all times”. Chartered trains are injected in between normal train services and run only within off-peak hours.

It added that only one-way services were provided to ACS (I), as the return journey would have taken place during peak hours. It is understood that the chartered trains would not have been in service during off-peak hours.

ACS (I) had chartered the trains to transport 3,000 of its students and staff to the rugby match, which was the first school final to be held at the new National Stadium at the Sports Hub.

The move provoked a flurry of both dismay and support from the public, with some questioning whether some schools were getting special treatment and whether SMRT could have put the additional trains to better use for the public. Others felt it was an efficient way of transporting students without affecting road traffic.

ACS (I) principal Winston Hodge had told The Straits Times that it would have taken at least 80 buses to transport its staff and students, and the trains were a “cost-efficient” way of getting them to the Sports Hub. Neither the school nor SMRT revealed the cost, but it reportedly came to S$2 a head. The students were to travel directly from one-north station to Stadium station on the Circle Line.

The match saw ACS (I) beat defending champions Saint Andrew’s Secondary 28 to 8.