Govt should conduct review before taking over rail assets of SMRT

It is disturbing that defective MRT trains ordered in 2009 and delivered in 2011 must be returned to the manufacturer for repairs (“China-made trains: Impure materials caused cracks”; July 7).

So far, it has not been announced whether there will be any compensation from the manufacturers.

The incident was reported widely in Hong Kong, and MTR Corporation announced that it had also ordered trains from the same manufacturer but has not yet taken delivery of them. It is reported to be engaging with the manufacturer on this incident, and I believe it will take the delivery seriously to avoid the same problems.

Further, MTR Corporation ordered trains of a different material as well as trains made of material imported from Japan, compared with those that Singapore got from the Chinese manufacturer.

In Singapore, there has been talk of the Government taking over SMRT’s rail assets. Arguably, with an asset-light business model, SMRT can concentrate on operational efficiency without the burden of capital expenditure. Its share price would surge.

The public has had enough of these issues with train services, such as inconsistent arrival schedules, train breakdowns owing to the rail sleepers and now defective trains.

The Transport Ministry should conduct a review of the entire public transport system, especially the MRT system, and defer the intention to take over the train operators’ hardware.

Any negotiations and valuation should take into account the potential impairment of these assets. Taxpayers should not end up footing the cost of future repairs.

Or maybe we should hire operators from other cities to run our MRT network. We have had too many high-paid professional managers not from the mass transit sector at the helm for too long.