INVESTIGATIONS INTO MRT TUNNEL FLOODING ON NORTH-SOUTH LINE
Dennis Tan asked when the pumps in the tunnel between Bishan and Braddell MRT stations were last inspected before the tunnel flooding.
Khaw Boon Wan replied that he is not giving excuses for not checking the pumps or other small things the Member talked about. But in the limited time that they had, they focused on the big ticket items which can cause severe problems. But they were going to get, eventually, to check on these small things, too.
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INVESTIGATIONS INTO MRT TUNNEL FLOODING ON NORTH-SOUTH LINE
Dennis Tan asked why recent flood mitigation measures carried out by LTA for the MRT network failed to prevent the flooding.
Khaw Boon Wan said that MRT tunnels are fully protected against flooding. They should not flood. The primary flood protection measure is the storm water sump pit.
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INCIDENCE OF DIABETES BY INCOME GROUP
Leon Perera asked what strategies are being deployed to promote affordable healthier food.
Amrin Amin replied that through the HPB’s Healthier Choice Symbol, Singaporeans can find a wide variety of healthier food products that suit different budget needs.
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INVESTIGATIONS INTO MRT TUNNEL FLOODING ON NORTH-SOUTH LINE
Daniel Goh asked whether the transfer of all operating assets from SMRT to LTA had been completed and whether the anti-flood system at Bishan station was included in the assets transferred and audited.
Khaw Boon Wan said that given the extent of assets that they are taking over, this is not a simple operation. The process takes several years to complete. They are not even halfway there. LTA has prioritised the condition assessment of critical or high-value operating assets such as the trains and signalling system first, with the rest, including the Bishan storm water sump pumps, slated to commence later this year.
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CAUSE OF TRAIN FAULT ALONG DOWNTOWN LINE BETWEEN BUKIT PANJANG AND BEAUTY WORLD STATIONS
Pritam Singh asked why the disruption between Bukit Panjang and Beauty World stations on 16 October 2017 affected train services during the DTL3 Open House on the same day.
Khaw Boon Wan replied that the decision was made to suspend the injection of trains into DTL3 to avoid congestion on DTL2.
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MEASURES TO PREVENT FUTURE FLOODING IN MRT TUNNEL
Pritam Singh asked about the “deep-seated cultural issues” afflicting SMRT as raised by the SMRT CEO during the aftermath of the tunnel flooding incident.
Khaw Boon Wan said that at a media conference on 16 October 2017, the CEO of SMRT Desmond Kuek commented on some “deep-seated cultural issues” within SMRT. In response to a journalist’s query, he referred to a recent Organisational Climate Survey done by Towers Watson which found nine in 10 SMRT employees proud of, and engaged in their work. On the remaining one in 10 employees, he elaborated on the need to strengthen the level of accountability by supervisors, and the degree of ownership and open reporting by staff.
Read the full exchange here.