Yours Toothfully (ad space for sale)

I was taking the escalator down Orchard underpass to get down to Orchard MRT station. It was terribly crowded, but nothing unusual, being so close to Christmas. I entered the MRT station, descended to the platform and it was only after seeing the crowd on the platform that I realised that something was wrong.

I was not the only one taking pictures. Dozens of others raised their cameras above the crowds, snapping away. Meanwhile the escalators happily continued to bring unknowing passengers down to the platform, worsening the state of constipation. Trains heading for Yishun were passing but not stopping. The other side, towards Marina South, was completely quiet. Temperatures were rising. People were getting confused, angry or both. Predicting some disaster if somebody didn’t do something fast to clear the bowels of the station, I decided to get out of the dangerously overcrowded situation. It was only then that I heard an announcement saying that there is no train service between Braddell and Marina South in both directions.

So finally, we had an inkling of what’s going on. No train service. But why were the gates still opening and allowing more unknowing passengers to enter the station? Those who were in the station or just walking to the station may have heard the announcements, but not those who arrived a minute after the announcement was made. Unknowing people just coming down from Orchard underpass, ION Orchard, Tangs basement or Wisma Atria couldn’t have heard the announcements. And so the gates continued opening. More passengers entered the station only to be shocked when they descended to the terribly congested platform. The first thing that came to my mind? Couldn’t they have just deactivated the entry gates? Why were the entry gates still functioning, allowing more and more uninformed people to keep entering to worsen the overcrowding?

If deactivating the entry gates is too high tech for them, why not just deploy people to stand in front of the gates and stop people from tapping their cards? If that’s too demanding on manpower, how about sticking a tape across the gates? Almost all the gates are one-way and will not stop people from exiting.

Anyway, I went back to my office to chill, then took a walk down to Dhoby Ghaut. It was only after I’ve reached home and watched the news that I realised the full extent of the problem. A train was actually stuck in the tunnel between Dhoby Ghaut and City Hall and those folks on that ill-fated train went through an ordeal far worse than I did. From Today:

The massive disruption hit 11 stations, from Marina Bay to Bishan. Confusion reigned but chaos were averted as commuters mostly kept a lid on their frustrations at the second MRT disruption in as many days.

Two commuters were taken to hospital – one was semi-conscious and the other had difficulty breathing – and a window of a train was smashed as passengers stuck underground gasped for air after the train’s air-conditioning shut down and lights went out.

South-bound services were restored after two hours but north-bound services remained closed through the night.

It all began just before 7pm, when a north-bound train stalled between the City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut stations.

Hundreds of passengers on the train were stranded for up to an hour in darkness – the only light came from mobile phones as commuters tried to call family and friends. Mr Asmin Amri, 62, said: “I prayed nothing would happen. I was afraid people would push and shove and things may get out hand.”

Student Fitrah Radhiah, 16, added: “I felt nervous. Everything seemed dark.” As it got increasingly stuffy, a passenger used a fire extinguisher to break a train window.

The passengers’ ordeal ended when they were allowed to leave the train. Guided by SMRT, police and Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel, they walked about 300m in the dark to Dhoby Ghaut Station. Said Mr Asmin: “Everyone stayed calm and left in an orderly fashion. If not, there would have been chaos.”

At the other affected stations, commuters besieged SMRT staff and police officers for answers and refunds, while scores simply got tired of waiting for alternatives and walked to their destinations. Queues snaked across taxi stands in the city, and buses slowed to a crawl as they were filled with passengers.

The rest of the article can be read here. I may be speaking for myself, but I think commuters are angry, not so much because the trains broke down, but because in spite of all the laudatory news coverage on civil defence exercises and stuff like that, simple common sense doesn’t come in when people on the ground need to make some simple decisions in times of emergency. Is it due to a lack of training or what I suspect, too much obedience training?

Yes, there was no mayhem. Yes, people kept a lid on their frustrations (maybe except for bloggers like me). Most telling of the operator’s attitude is the “secret” message meant for opportunistic taxi drivers mistakenly sent to a monitor in public view. Was it a mistake? Or was a member of the staff so disgusted with the management’s attitude towards passengers that he/she decided to make it public?

At the end of the day, people like me still need to take the MRT. We know they are all out to fleece us, but we are just helpless lambs. Keep a lid on our frustrations? I suspect that won’t be very good for everyone’s mental health.

And by the way, yesterday’s most popular search words on google.sg were “aaron tan”. I blogged about this latest YouTube star over . Go check it out for something more light-hearted.