In the article, “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system.”, Lee (2015) states that Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, looks up to Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and suggest that local transportation sectors should use MTRC as a guideline for its “reliability standards”. Based on MTR’s and SMRT’s annual reports, by comparing between Hong Kong and Singapore. Hong Kong’s subway system yields the highest “system’s farebox recovery ratio”. Looking at both the MTRC and SMRT’s railway systems, the length of MTR’s railway surpasses SMRT’s by 59km. The punctuality of SMRT trains is 3.9% lesser than MTR even though both countries face the same amount of significant hold-ups. Looking at the expenditure of profits on enhancing train systems, MTRC invests a larger amount of their earnings compared to SMRT. MTR also make sure that their passengers enjoy a worry-free and smooth ride by having higher inspection frequency compared to SMRT and being more detail in examining the railway lines. MTRC aims to rectify any issues or faults that arise under two minutes with the introduction of the “Super Operations Control Centre” which oversees the entire railway system, resolving emergencies with their fast reaction. While benchmarking is a systematic process used by organizations to improve their performance, the practices highlighted by Lee do not address pertinent questions as to why Singapore’s rail system falls short; rather LTA has much to improve on in terms of the frequency of the trains, having rapid response team and effectiveness in investment made.
Firstly, despite having lesser track area than other major metropolitan subway systems, the MTR system transports more than five million passengers daily. London has 402 kilometres of line, New York City has 373 kilometres, while Hong Kong MTR tracks only stretches 218 kilometres. With a shorter length of railway tracks, Hong Kong’s MTR system still carries more commuters around the country when compared to London and New York subway systems. This show how efficient is Hong Kong’s MTR system in passenger transportation when placed side by side with renowned subway systems from other countries.
Secondly, for a smooth operation for directing commuters to alternatives travel options during train disruption, SMRT personnel have to be clear and concise in their roles during these unforeseen events. According to MTR Sustainability Report 2016, MTR has various rapid response units on standby when the operation of MTR is trouble-free. As compared, SMRT has to recall staff from different departments and other stations to provide backing at the disrupted stations through the command centre. Precious times are wasted here, delaying the already long recovery period. A proper contingency plan or team would increase the readiness of SMRT to handle train disruption in the future.
Lastly, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has invested S$12.5 million to develop manpower for the industry. The MTRC also spent S$1.09 billion in 2016 on maintenance and system upgrades. Singapore is seen investing a significantly smaller amount of money as compared to Hong Kong in regards with the railway system. Hong Kong’s consumers were more satisfied as compared to Singapore. Singapore 66.8% satisfactory in 2015. While Hong Kong’s MTR customer satisfaction reached a record high score of 73.5% in 2015. Hong Kong's MTR system is seen to be much more proactive to providing a better commuting experience to the public. Demonstrating how willing and smart is Hong Kong’s MTR on investing and making concise decision to have satisfactory commuters.
In conclusion, Hong Kong’s MTR system is certainly one of the best in its field when we look at how efficient and managed overall. However, the practices highlighted by Lee do not address pertinent questions as to why Singapore’s rail system falls short.
References
Maggie Hiufu Wong (2015, March 31). Hong Kong's MTR: Taking a ride on the world's most envied metro system. Cable News Network, Retrieved September 27, 2017, from http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/hong-kong-mtr-success-story/index.html
Alan Lee (2017, August 31). Time to ease up on the MTR over its service record. Cable News Network, Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.ejinsight.com/20170831-time-to-ease-up-on-the-mtr-over-its-service-record/
Lincoln Leong Kwok-Kuen (2016, May 12). 5 billions MTR sustainability report 2015. Mass Transit Railway, Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/corporate/sustainability/2015rpt/pdf/mtrfull2015.pdf
Li Xueying (2015, October 25). HK rail's 'always improving' ethos. The Straits Times, Retrieved September 25, 2017, from http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/hk-rails-always-improving-ethos
Rahimah Rashith (2016, September 16). Satisfaction level up for MRT service: Survey. The Straits Times, Retrieved September 25, 2017, from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/satisfaction-level-up-for-mrt-service-survey
Mass Transit Railway (2016). Sustainability Report 2016, retrieved from http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/corporate/sustainability/2016rpt/pdf/Customers.pdf
Mass Transit Railway (n.d.). Understanding Our Crowd Management Measures, retrieved September 17, 2017, from http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/main/crowd_control.html
Lim, K. (2015, December 20). Singapore's train system: What needs to be done to ensure a smoother ride? Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-s-train-system-what-needs-to-be-done-to-ensure-a-smoot-8246388
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