Rail transport – enhancing commuters’ travel experience

by Service Readiness

Working

Group

(Transportation

Standards Committee): Co-convenors Alvin Kek & Simon Yan, and member

Lim Kim Chye

Enhancing Operation Readiness of Rail Operations for passenger safety and better commuter travel experience.

Reliability, safety and comfort are of paramount importance, in order to build trust and confidence in the use of MRT and LRT services, and to ensure a pleasant travel experience for our passengers.

Ridership has increased significantly for the rail network in Singapore over the years. With the increased connectivity in the local railway network, the operation of all transit lines requires close cooperation and coordination to ensure the safety of passengers travelling within the network.

Particularly during a train service disruption/delay, Public Transport

Operators (PTOs) play a crucial role and must respond promptly and coordinate with the relevant agencies/departments so that the safety of passengers is not compromised. The necessary information has to be disseminated in a timely manner to passengers and members of the public, so that they are aware of the situation and can plan alternative routes.

Whilst the reliability of the railway network has improved over the years, PTOs should always be ready in the event an incident occurs, and should seek continuous improvement of their processes to enhance their operational readiness.

Railway operations can be broadly classified into (but are not limited to) key aspects which are important for delivering an excellent train service and a better commuter experience for passengers. These aspects can range from operations of the station, trains and control centre, to gaining access to tracks and all the way to fault response strategies as well as incident management.

The various aspects require Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to govern railway operations, so that all personnel working in the railway environment adhere to them, in order to perform their work/duties safely. SOPs should be stringent, in order to protect the safety of railway personnel, especially those who require access to the track during passenger service hours for emergency fault rectification, or access to the track during engineering hours to maintain the railway system/equipment.

As part of railway operations, it is important to have a process to develop, formalise, maintain and review the SOPs, so that potential risks are mitigated particularly for safety-critical tasks, and the SOPs are adequate for the protection of railway personnel and are practical to carry out. Railway operators need to develop and maintain operating rules and ensure they are up-to-date to support their railway operations.

However, to ensure reliability and safety of the local rail network and the safety of personnel and the public, there is a need to harmonise and consolidate all the good practices from local PTOs as well as overseas PTOs, so that the processes can be further enhanced, with the intent of improving passenger safety and providing excellent service to passengers. This could be done through the development of standards for Singapore, and potentially, for overseas use as well.

The Service Readiness Workstream, set up by the Technical Committee on Railway Systems, under the purview of the Transportation Standards Committee, aims to develop standards, with the goal of harmonising the existing and future railway practices in operations and services. The standards serve as a guide for the rail industry, as a whole. Their objectives are to allow the rail industry to seek continuous improvement of their processes, in order to enhance their operational readiness, with the goal of providing safe and reliable train services to passengers.

Formal and regular reviews of the national standards will take place, which will provide assurance for continuous improvement. In the long run, the standards could also ensure consistent performance/ service of railway operations and act as a base for more effective communication among PTOs and government agencies.

There are a number of standards related to rail, which have been published so far. The most recent ones are:

• TR 94: 2021 – MRT and LRT Operations – guide for assisted service kiosks in stations

• TR 98: 2021 – MRT Operations –guide for platform screen doors in stations

• TR 107: 2022 – MRT and LRT –Operations and maintenance guide for passenger lifts in stations

These standards cover the operational considerations and recommended functions that can be considered for the stations.

In addition, there is an upcoming webinar launch of these three standards, that would be beneficial for consultants, suppliers, contractors, developers and government agencies.