Priority is to improve rail system

IN LAST Saturday's article ("Lots more to do to get system back in shape"), the writer admitted that he had made a factual error in his earlier article ("Reliability of MRT key to having fewer cars on roads"; Feb 13), which concluded wrongly that Singapore's MRT system was less reliable than the New York City Subway.

He then went on to suggest that "perhaps comparing against a system that is four times older than Singapore's was not the best thing to do in the first place".

It was the writer who had brought up the comparison with the New York City Subway in the first place, and not the Ministry of Transport or the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

During last week's Committee of Supply debate, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew had to point out the untruth and set the record straight, as the writer's error was repeated by an MP in a parliamentary query.

As Mr Lui explained in Parliament, the Government is sparing no effort and resource to improve the reliability, capacity and waiting times of our MRT system.

While we have made some progress, much more work remains to be done.

The ministry, LTA and the public transport operators are working together to improve the system to a standard that Singaporeans can be proud of and have the right to expect. This will take time and we seek the public's understanding, but we do not want to leave any doubt that we are aiming to provide a highly reliable train service, among the best in the world.

Julia Hang (Mrs)

Director, Corporate Communications

And Press Secretary to Minister

Ministry of Transport

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