Witness to a horrific event -- Case of the sleeping SMRT employees
On my way back from school today, I took the mrt from bouna vista heading towards jurong east as usual. when it reached clementi mrt station, a family tried to board the train near where i was standing. from my view, i only saw this little boy who came into the train first, and then he tried to pull the pram that his mother was pushing in. only a few seconds after the door opened, the alarm sound for the closing door had already started.
usually when this happens i won't really think much of it, as i had always assumed that the door would only close when all the passengers have cleared away from the door. my assumptions are not without basis.. sometimes even after the alarm sound has ended but because of the huge crowd that's still trying to get in, the door would not close until they are in. and sometimes even if the door does try to close in on the incoming passengers before they are all in, the door would open again..
ok, back to where i left off just now.. the little boy was trying to pull the pram in when the alarm sounded, but the pram got a little stuck at the gap between the platform of the station and the train and caused them to take a like 2 seconds before they could unjam it and enter the train. by that time, the alarm had finished sounding and the door started closing, but only the front two wheels of the pram had entered the train. in a move not to crush the pram, the mother pulled the pram out and the door closed in between them, separating the boy from his mother. i was half expecting that the door to open again as it usually would because other than that family, there were still a couple of passengers who hadn't gotten in. but i was so wrong..
the next few moments were really like a blur because the moment the door closed, the train had started moving already (unlike most time where there would be at least a 1 to 2 seconds buffer after the door closes b4 the train starts to move). the boy panicked and started banging on the door and screaming and crying, and the mother too tried to wave frantically to the train driver at the front to stop the train. but neither the train driver nor the dozens of security cameras surveying the train platform saw the mother's desperate cries and waving. the train never looked back and continued its way to the next station. because the thing happened so fast b4 i could even react, i didnt think of taking a pic to send to stomp. my first instinct was actually to press the emergency button but i was too far away.
a couple of friendly commuters went up to the crying boy to pacify him and another old man who was standing at the door had his hand on the emergency button. i thought he was going to talk to the driver, but he decided not to in the end.. luckily i wasn't standing at his position as i was already mortified by the whole incident and was ready to give the train driver an earful from me.
after i went home, i told my mum about the incident and almost started quarreling with her because she insisted that it was solely the mother's fault. she told me that the mrt drivers will not be able to see the passengers and so commuters should rely on the alarm sound and enter the train before it ends. i see her point and agree that she has some valid points, but i definitely hope that this is really not the case!! if that is true, it would mean that none of these SMRT officials actually do care about whether passengers do get in n out of the train at all, all they do is open door, close door, start train, and stop train at fixed intervals.. and this would just spell the serious shortcomings of the public transportation in singapore and definitely require some critical review of the safety policies they have in place. otherwise i would just opt for full automation.... -.-"
on the other hand, i do seriously hope that this was an isolated event with a few unalert SMRT personnels to be held responsible, or else this would just mean much danger for elderly and disabled who are slow in getting onto or alighting the train. in addition, it would also mean more frustrating mrt experience for everyone as everyone frantically tries to board or alight before the alarm sound ends.
did i mention that the alarm often starts sounding a second after the door opens?
*************************************************************
I have already taken down the time of the incident (1.40pm), the train number (2226) and the door number (B2) for the train heading towards Jurong east from clementi. I'd like to do a poll here on what you all think i should do:
A: just keep this as a blog post
B: write a complaint to SMRT
C: write to STOMP in the straits times or broadcast media
D: all of the above
Give me some feedback! =p
usually when this happens i won't really think much of it, as i had always assumed that the door would only close when all the passengers have cleared away from the door. my assumptions are not without basis.. sometimes even after the alarm sound has ended but because of the huge crowd that's still trying to get in, the door would not close until they are in. and sometimes even if the door does try to close in on the incoming passengers before they are all in, the door would open again..
ok, back to where i left off just now.. the little boy was trying to pull the pram in when the alarm sounded, but the pram got a little stuck at the gap between the platform of the station and the train and caused them to take a like 2 seconds before they could unjam it and enter the train. by that time, the alarm had finished sounding and the door started closing, but only the front two wheels of the pram had entered the train. in a move not to crush the pram, the mother pulled the pram out and the door closed in between them, separating the boy from his mother. i was half expecting that the door to open again as it usually would because other than that family, there were still a couple of passengers who hadn't gotten in. but i was so wrong..
the next few moments were really like a blur because the moment the door closed, the train had started moving already (unlike most time where there would be at least a 1 to 2 seconds buffer after the door closes b4 the train starts to move). the boy panicked and started banging on the door and screaming and crying, and the mother too tried to wave frantically to the train driver at the front to stop the train. but neither the train driver nor the dozens of security cameras surveying the train platform saw the mother's desperate cries and waving. the train never looked back and continued its way to the next station. because the thing happened so fast b4 i could even react, i didnt think of taking a pic to send to stomp. my first instinct was actually to press the emergency button but i was too far away.
a couple of friendly commuters went up to the crying boy to pacify him and another old man who was standing at the door had his hand on the emergency button. i thought he was going to talk to the driver, but he decided not to in the end.. luckily i wasn't standing at his position as i was already mortified by the whole incident and was ready to give the train driver an earful from me.
after i went home, i told my mum about the incident and almost started quarreling with her because she insisted that it was solely the mother's fault. she told me that the mrt drivers will not be able to see the passengers and so commuters should rely on the alarm sound and enter the train before it ends. i see her point and agree that she has some valid points, but i definitely hope that this is really not the case!! if that is true, it would mean that none of these SMRT officials actually do care about whether passengers do get in n out of the train at all, all they do is open door, close door, start train, and stop train at fixed intervals.. and this would just spell the serious shortcomings of the public transportation in singapore and definitely require some critical review of the safety policies they have in place. otherwise i would just opt for full automation.... -.-"
on the other hand, i do seriously hope that this was an isolated event with a few unalert SMRT personnels to be held responsible, or else this would just mean much danger for elderly and disabled who are slow in getting onto or alighting the train. in addition, it would also mean more frustrating mrt experience for everyone as everyone frantically tries to board or alight before the alarm sound ends.
did i mention that the alarm often starts sounding a second after the door opens?
*************************************************************
I have already taken down the time of the incident (1.40pm), the train number (2226) and the door number (B2) for the train heading towards Jurong east from clementi. I'd like to do a poll here on what you all think i should do:
A: just keep this as a blog post
B: write a complaint to SMRT
C: write to STOMP in the straits times or broadcast media
D: all of the above
Give me some feedback! =p
posted by Pinkie @ 2:59 PM
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