Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Singapore's Public Transport ~ MRT

The public transport in Singapore is considered quite efficient, so efficient that when something bad happens everyone and I mean EveryOne gets upset, including yours truly. It's unfortunately sad, but I have to admit it.

Yesterday, with a slight pitter-patter of rain, I thought it was a good idea to get an earlier train. Approaching the platform, I could sense that something was wrong with the current train docked as the train doors wouldn't open. For at least a couple of minutes, not to mention for the minutes the train arrived before I got onto the platform, people started to fill the platform and gather right in front of the train doors, impatiently waiting for them to open. When the doors finally opened, people rushed in only to be told to evacuate the train. Everyone on the train had to vacate it. This is not good for morning rush hour, not good at all. Can you imagine how crowded the platform was? Not to mention dangerous as there are no safety guards between the platform and the train track.

Less than a minute later, another train approaches. Everyone wanted to get back onto this train especially the ones who managed to get a seat on the vacated train. It was vicious. Some even took the train from the next station in order to get onto a train. And it's not if you stand closest to the edge of the platform that you'll gain entry onto the train. And yet there were people not standing behind the yellow line.

The upcoming trains were whistling in warning. Lovely sound, one of the rare times I hear the train whistle! Anyways, it took me three trains later to get onto a train, each at 30 seconds apart. A good service recovery in my books.

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