By Leslie Lee
It could be the highest rated Mediacorp reality show to date. It could become the most talked about SPH organised event ever.
No, it’s not Singapore Idol or the New Paper Big Walk.
I am talking about The Great SMRT Crush Load Challenge!
In light of SMRT CEO, Ms Saw Phaik Hwa’s theory that:-
“Even at its most crowded, an SMRT train carries 1,400 passengers. This is “not crush load”, where a train is carrying more passengers than the standing load it is designed to carry under normal circumstances. Crush load happens when a train carries more than 2,000 passengers. People can board the train – it is whether they choose to.”
I would like to see the local mainstream media take up Ms Saw’s challenge to see if it is indeed possible (taking safety and some degree of comfort into account) to fit a maximum of 1,500 people into a single train service.
Ms Saw says that at 1,400 passengers, we still have a choice whether to board the train. So let’s try out that theory with a hundred more passengers, but yet not reach 2,000 (because that would be a “crush load”). We will put out a call for 1,490 willing participants for this challenge.
So why 1,490? Because I would like Ms Saw herself, together with the 9 other Directors on the Board of SMRT to be an integral part of this challenge by being passenger numbers 1,490 to 1,500.
How would this work? The mainstream media – either Mediacorp or SPH – together with SMRT – issues a call to action for 1,490 willing bodies of all ages, shapes and sizes (we need a cross section of people – from age 10 to 80 for this exercise) to take part by registering for this event.
On a designated day, time and venue, all 1,490 participants, together with the ten SMRT Directors will report to the train station (or depot, if we can, to make it easier for crowd and security control…we all know how secure SMRT depots are) to board the train.
Since there are a total of six cabins per train service, each cabin will try to board 250 passengers, with Ms Saw and fellow directors leading the way in the first cabin.
If we are able to squeeze all 1,500 passengers on board the train (again, without compromising security, safety and some degree of comfort), we will put Ms Saw’s theory to rest and not begrudge SMRT for their systems and processes with regards to passenger capacities.
However, in the event that even a single person is unable to board the train service, or an independent security company deems the service to be unsafe for all passengers, SMRT will provide each of the 1,490 participants with free travel on SMRT train services for one year.
What do we get out of this challenge?
Mediacorp gets a gripping, nail biting one-hour reality show, SPH gets great circulation for a day and SMRT/passengers get to prove a point.
Ms Saw and her team of Directors deserve nothing but the best efforts of all their customers to prove her theory right (or wrong, as the case may be).
SMRT’s website puts “customers, the environment, safety, security, community outreach, philanthropy and community outreach” as their corporate commitments. Lets put at least four of these to the test once and for all.
I would be quite curious to see how it all pans out.
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I will be the first participant to sign up.
Tell me the date, time and venue..
I will participate..
I’ll be there. Just let me know the time and place.
It is common knowledge that systems such as trains are commonly designed to take up a whole lot more pressure/weight than the actual amount they are subjected to.
This is not linked to the actual capacity of the vehicle.
If a lift says its max load is 20 people, do you really think the capacity of the lift is really capable of taking up to 20 people?
Unless its a new ride at the Resort World Sentosa (maybe under the Madagascar rides – Sardine Lift) no one in the right mind, including Ms Saw here would go squeeze in to enjoy the odors and such from the remaining people in the lift.
Her usage of the crush load shows her lack of experience in the technical aspect of the trains, as well as her stupidity of not listening to her technical people, otherwise she wouldn’t have used that as an excuse to explain for the squeezed conditions in the cabin
ME TOO. I will join in.
Each carriage can take a crush load of 2000/6 = 333 persons. Let try the crush load. I think its going to be fun but do get the pregnant, the old, those on wheelchairs, those with hypertension and finally those with bad breath out of this game.
Ms Saw and her SMRT directors, rather then leading the way, should be the LAST to “choose whether or not to board”.
And what about a place for Transport Minister Raymond Lim? Surely we need a $,$$$,$$$ gahmen VIP to grace this important event?
He used to cite the same fairytale statistics as Ms Saw and other MRT staff. Now, probably because elections are coming, he switched camps and suddenly “shares commuters concerns”.
Actually the SMRT train depot would be the ideal venue for settling the ‘crush load’ challenge once and for all.
Simply determine the number of carriages per train service and then do the same with 2,000 volunteers at the depot where many carriages are parked…..it will be a rather interesting event and deserves live coverage.
Easy enough win for on year free travel on SMRT train services!
like the old “how many clowns can fit into the mini” challenge… Just this time it’s singaporeans who are the clowns.
yes i do think it’s time for our mini$ter$, top civil $ervant$ and GLC head$ to experience for themselves what we go through everyday.
Count me in.
You forgot, she don’t take trains?!;)
i will participate on 1 condition..saw herself together with raymon the LTA minister is inside the same cabin as me
along the ride.. i am goin to pinch BOTH backsides..if saw saw me pinched ramon arsh…i would had say my fault mey? if i pressed me nose on saw ney ney..if she comment again.. i would had say..wah lau you hav nay nay mey?
dun forget that people do lug bags (bagpacks, sling bags) along, some people have prams… more realistic rite? how to move a pram pass a crowd that cannot move?
No lah, the smrt will definite play cheat by allow less people into the cabin and announce the wrong figure. Who will bang his own feet?
I don’t even need a prize for winning, just get this event going and I will do it for free.
It’s about time a peasant like me did something for our future generations.
It can be done:
http://english.cri.cn/6566/2009/03/27/1881s468728.htm
To be realistic, 2/3 of 1,500 to be on the train while the other 500 boards the train within the door open period (is it 30 seconds).
Ms Saw, Raymond and MM without security to board last.
And to make it even lagi more realistic, let Ah-Saw and her gang try to wriggle out within 30 seconds when she reach her “stop” >:D
she doesn’t take train. she drive a 7series BMW.
she will say i can choose to board the train or to drive my 7series BMW… so i choose to board the 7series.
to take up the challenge? you singaporeans think she going to be a fool to put this to test joining us Singaporeans fools?
she raise the fair again and again and yet today 2/7/2010 at boon lay station it is a crowd to the edge of the platform. i can’t even see the opposite train that kind of crowd! would see try just for a day??
ok let her try on the early wee hour say starting 7am and the next would be 7pm.
she will collapse for sure
PAP VS PSP
people action party VS people supporting party.
PAP: people action party so people talk so much they take action and put you in jail.
PSP: people supporting party so you suffering in pain and need help they support you.
ENOUGH LA PAP!!! WE SINGAPOREAN DON’T NEED YOU ANYMORE!!!
F$$$ YOU AND WE WILL VOTE YOU OUT YOU SICK HEAD!! MINISTERS
Me too. Please publicise the event here if they would take up the challenge.
no need events. just vote as much as you can the pap out and you will see how the ceo will piss in her pants and the rest of them. they do shit and government support them increase increase is also the government game both ride the same boat.@!
TOC should set a date and time and a MRT station to carry out The SMRT CRUSH LOAD CHALLENGE by getting 1490 participants and an invitation to “all the good for nothing” SMRT directors and CEO to witness this great event.
Let’s not waste time set a day and venue ASAP!
for a good measure, maybe Straits Times should get the opinions of people from our neighbouring countries that are less affluent to comment on the rush hour crush. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, India & maybe China?
must show them our world class lifestyle, supported by international rankings- that S’pore is ranked highly as a liveable city (if you can afford it).
I would love to see Ms Saw and her board members get crushed!!!!! Yeahhhhhh
seem like there is no shortage of volunteers. We should seriously push for this test to be conducted with ‘live’ broadcast on TV. I am pretty sure it will be the top viewership rating for the next 50 years.
Come on! Ms Saw take on the challenge. It is a good opportunity to proof to us that your train can indeed take in 2000 people. In fact we are willing to give you a discount of 25%. We are testing our only 1500.
well , singaporeans majorityly accept, so we only have 1 choice, Accept.
sianz….
hmmm, a video “survey” prior to that live The Great Crush Challenge would be ideal. taken at morning crush & evening crush to show what people lug along (whether empty-handed or not), how that affects the final number of people that can be “packed” in.
this pax limit set by layman is as unrealistic as that stated in passenger lifts. anyone who takes lifts know that while it may possible to reach that limit, in reality, few lifts operate at that load. so what does that tell you?
=D
If you really can get Ms Saw and the SMRT Board to participate, pls arrange some foreigners with strong body odor to stand next to them – must test real life conditions, mah.
But seriously, this test can easily swing in SMRT favor – since it is a one-off event and with cameras rolling, they can easily get 2001 of their ever-eager bootlickers (all of whom don’t usually take the train) to squeeze like sardines and say there is no problems. Some might even be squeezed onto their knees, with their faces pressed against the backside of their bosses and are ever thankful for that opportunity. Case closed.
Hey Leslie, please put words into action and would really like to see the stupid expression of these scums. For me, I will definitely sign up.
call me in i will wear my unwashed under wear and shirt for month that i kept. i don’t want to shower and stand next to saw…, see if she can stand it from tampines to joo koon;.
I will be very depressed if I read every comment on the internet. To set the record straight; I was really talking about 1400 very small people or midgets*.
*terms and conditions apply. An example condition is the small person each cannot have surface area larger than standing area of the cabin/1400.”
pregnant woman: saw, i felt pain each time i’m being push and squeeze in the train. not being able to sit make my pain unbearable. can you help to solve the crowd issue?
ceo: everyone pays for the ride. you like you can take or else you go take taxi if complain too much pain. non of my business to help you. i’m not a welfare care takers.
pregnant woman: how dare you say that!!
ceo: stop it or i will take legal action against you for harassing me or defamation suit!!
pregnant woman: zip……zip
pregnant woman: saw, i felt pain each time i’m being push and squeeze in the train. not being able to sit make my pain unbearable. can you help to solve the crowd issue?
ceo: everyone pays for the ride. you like you can take or else you go take taxi if complain too much pain. non of my business to help you. i’m not a welfare care takers.
pregnant woman: how dare you say that!!
ceo: stop it or i will take legal action against you or defamation suit!!
pregnant woman: zip……zip
what have singapore become?
very sad that our leader had broken every promises he made. every election and promises that he assure us.
promises after promises and yet we are being step like a dirty carpet.
what about wong can’t sing and sissy LHL too? shouldn’t they be there too?
#mice is nice, 2 July 2010
“…dun forget that people do lug bags (bagpacks, sling bags) along, some people have prams… more realistic rite? how to move a pram pass a crowd that cannot move?..”
Hello, where is your manners? Don’t you know prams must be stowed and held over the head so that fellow Singaporeans can “choose” to board the trains? Babies and prams don’t count towards the “crushload” in the train design specs, so they are technically not allowed together with food, drink, pets, etc… in space management calculations.
And obviously you’ve forgotton army standard. Clean fatigue mean SBO, rifle helmet, underwears… NO full packs. Likewise, 3-tonners are always indented based on 40 pax per truck – it is understood those 40 souls have only underwears and socks on. (Kidding, lah.)
the forgottengeneration, 3 July 2010
oh sorry, i din know that, must ask this Ms Saw where to stow the folded prams. can i further ask if a pregnant lady is 1 or 2 person, cos baby in womb is counted as another rite?
oh yah, the 40 pax of army guys are packed into a 3-tonner like construction workers. maybe can “comfort” our foreign workers ferried on pick-ups that they are “army standard”. our world class (3G) army, lol.
Then should include those handicaps on wheel chairs. They need to travel and earn a decent living too. I kind of pity this group of people too. Can not get into the train or bus during peak hours. Sigh…..
asked leeuanyew when was the last time he himself used the smrt? in the year 1987 perhaps?..i want to ask shutmudgum this simple Q..how come smrt is now a private entertity when it was built with peasants’ bloodsweatandtears money? below is the answer when/how the smrt was born…….
……………………………
The rail lines have been constructed by the Land Transport Authority, a statutory board of the Government of Singapore
………………………….
unless saw said she bought it with her personal savin$ after she was retrenched from DFS lark…
as i said before..leekuanyew must hav his finger$ in every $tate$ propertie$..
built with the peasant$ money..lo$$ peasants topped up..gained..masuk temasek inc pocket$….
Name : Halimah binte Yacob (Member of Parliament)
Constituency : Jurong GRC
Party Affiliation
People’s Action Party
Place of Birth : Singapore
Date of Birth : 23.08.1954
Marital Status : Married
No of Children : 5
Religion : Islam
…………….
and how on earth did this pap MP become a senoir ceo in smrt? unless you want to tell us..her ntuc rebates is so high that she can also buy a share in smrt as well? ok ok we know pillay used to be with sia inc..but maybe because when he reached 60..his pay was cut..and he decide to fly a train instead of a plane
and out of nowhere..smrt is a private enterty? woah shutmudgum you 1 hell of an indian lawyer har?
When he became the then-Minister for Communications (now the Ministry of Transport), he had to convince the cabinet in a debate in early 1980, that the S$ 5 billion needed for the system would be beneficial for the long-term development of Singapore. He argued that
“this is going to be the most expensive single project to be undertaken in Singapore. The last thing that we want to do is to squander away our hard-earned reserves and leave behind enormous debt for our children and our grandchildren. Now since we are sure that this is not going to be the case, we’ll proceed with the MRT, and the MRT will usher in a new phase in Singapore’s development and bring about a better life for all of us.”
Therefore, a provisional Mass Rapid Transit Authority was established in July 1980, after the debate. However, Mr Ong faced strong opposition from other members of the cabinet, by Finance Minister Goh Keng Swee, due especially to the heavy investments involved. A team of specialists from Harvard University, recommended that an all-bus system would be sufficient into the 1990s, and would cost 50% less than a rail-based system.
………………
to all those brilliant lawyer/accountants
please shared with us how does this smrt thinggie worked?
the former belated president begged borrowed and steal from another respectable honoured recentLEE departed minister a few billion$ in the early 80s
for our esteem world class smrt to be built..now both this founder members are dead and can no longer speak/worry for us the poor peasant$..the present smrt endup bein a private enterty company headed by 1 former dutyfree salegirl?
dr gohkengswee please we begged of you to rise from the dead and shoved saw backside into the sardined smrt cabins…
and kindLEE remind HER that she is not the LEGAL owner of smrt unless she hav a receipt to tell us she realLEE bought it from the singapore government…
yo yo yo !
is this due to INFLUX?
I thought singaporeans not producing enough babies?
Where all these people come from?
Influx is reduced or not?
How abt 1489 members of public + 10 senior mgmt from SMRT + 1 Transport Minister = 1500 for the full load test?! I’ll gladly volunteer myself to be part of this monumental experiment & provide my first-hand account of this unimaginable encounter.
To test the “crush load” of the MRT train is a fantastic idea. But everybody here knows that pigs will fly before SMRT will take up this “challenge” from TOC.
I think there are 2 ways that this can happen: -
1. TOC to set a date, time and station that this will happen. Then TOC will issue numbers to participants and record all this on video. This option take a bit of forward planning since you will expect zero cooperation from SMRT. But it should all be legal since we are all fare paying commuters who “happened” to be in the same station at the same time. I think we will have to choose a “beginning of line” station so it is easier to add the number of commuters who are not part of the TOC tally.
2. TOC to do this test off SMRT site. Since it is not possible to borrow a MRT train, we will make a mock up of the MRT train. We only need to have accurate areas painted on the ground with plywood panels for sides and doors to simulate the actual train. Then we can accurately count the number of people that can be piled into this space.
If TOC were to organize this, I am sure a lot of us will pay to participate just to prove a point. Some clever director may want to film this and this may even win some award just like The Cove. I think it is time we do something for ourselves instead of just taking whatever rubbish people throw at us.
I wouldn’t mind trying if it means 1 yr free travel.
The challenge should include moving the train 3 stations. Start-stop and moving.
Otherwise, just pile people on top of people, piggy back etc sure can fit more people into the train. Once the train starts moving, the trick is to stay 2 feet on the ground.
Hey guys I suggest u all take more onions & garlics the day before u participate & get into same cabin as these Mil$$$ CEO and Ministers and release the gases once the train doors close. Btw remember to bring along your masks and lets these elites suffocate in the cabin.
LOL! I would LOVE to try!
Perhaps we could combine that, plus trying to fight “Orchard River”.
last time old army, a CSM could make 60 guys squeeze onto a 3-tonner