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Commuters expecting to hear from management and authorities

In the past week, SMRT and the Land Transport Authority provided little relief for commuters who endured consecutive days of delays during peak travel hours.

In the past week, SMRT and the Land Transport Authority provided little relief for commuters who endured consecutive days of delays during peak travel hours.

While the disruptions added time and stress to commuters’ journeys, some information management was observed, with staff and Transcom officers giving travel advice.

However, commuters continued to bear the consequences of these tests, which will continue, according to SMRT and the LTA’s letter “Weekday signalling tests inevitable, allow problems to be spotted faster” (June 8).

Such disruptions have a socio-economic impact, as personal and working time is wasted, and the current testing framework would place further strain on national efficiency.

The deployment of the new C151B trains, which are unable to run on the legacy signalling system, means the only outcome of any signalling failure will be line stoppages, as witnessed previously.

The tests on the North-South Line have eroded confidence in public transit, particularly in SMRT. If such test results continue, what should the nation expect when testing on the East-West Line, a critical transit artery, commences?

The lack of comments from higher authorities, such as the Transport Minister, has made the population more cynical, as evidenced on social media.

Just as the authorities expect prompt receipt of fees for their services, commuters are expecting a response from SMRT’s management and the authorities other than asking for “understanding and patience”.

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