SMRT to be reorganised; new engineering group to be formed

SINGAPORE — Public transport operator SMRT will be reorganised into five main groups, with a new engineering cluster formed to build and strengthen engineering capabilities.

The transformation to the five main groups will take place “by evolution” and will not be an overnight change, said SMRT Group chief executive officer Neo Kian Hong on Friday (Nov 16), who declined to give a firm timeline on when the reorganisation will be completed.

Speaking to the media in a wide-ranging interview for the first time since he took over the helm in August this year, Mr Neo said these changes are being implemented as the company moves to place its rail operations as its primary focus.

With the reorganisation, SMRT said it has set a few “mission outcomes” — network reliability, operational and financial sustainability and improvement of its processes and workforce.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Rail reliability has been a hot topic over the past few years, with a series of high profile rail incidents and breakdowns. The authorities have set a 1 million Mean Kilometre Between Failure (MKBF) target for the rail operator by 2020, and SMRT said that it is now at 661,000 MKBF and is “on track” to meeting the reliability goal.

SMRT’s “deep seated cultural issues” — a phrase used by former SMRT group CEO Desmond Kuek — have also been thrust to the fore last year after a spate of breakdowns.

MR NEO’S THREE OBSERVATIONS

In a townhall speech made to employees on Friday morning, Mr Neo highlighted three main observations:

1.            The MRT system will be the “backbone” of land transport: By 2030, when the rail network grows to 360km, Mr Neo said that the MRT will be the “essential backbone” of public transport to enable a car-lite society.

2.            The rail system’s life cycle will need to be carefully managed: If SMRT is slow in system renewal efforts, reliability will be compromised.

3.            SMRT staff work hard and do their best: Mr Neo noted — through his visits over the past three months — that staff “take pride in their work, and come to work daily, committed to doing their best”.

THE FIVE MAIN GROUPS AFTER REORGANISATION

1.            Trains: Will focus on the day-to-day operations and maintenance, as well as service delivery, of the operator’s three MRT and one LRT lines

2.            Engineering: This group will build up operations and maintenance engineering, logistics, as well as training capabilities, and undertake new, longer term renewal projects

3.            Roads: Will look after the group’s bus, taxi and private-hire vehicle businesses

4.            Experience: Formerly known as the commercial group, this cluster will focus on customer-centric experiences for the commuter

5.            Corporate Services: Will provide shared services for all groups