Safety, security, comfort of commuters are SMRT's priority

Raffles Place MRT Station is an interchange station for the North-South and East-West Lines - Singapore's longest and busiest MRT lines - in the heart of the Central Business District.

The station is also among the MRT stations with the largest number of commuter entry and exit points.

These are served by underground station access walkways that provide a direct and sheltered connection to different parts of the city.

For commuter convenience, there are various retail shops and amenities placed along these station access walkways.

We assure Mr Ho Swee Huat ("Tackle congestion at some MRT stations"; Jan 1) that the safety, security and comfort of commuters at our MRT stations remains SMRT's priority.

Retail activities, such as those referred to in his letter, take place only beyond the paid transit area of the station, which is kept clear and unobstructed at all times.

Commuter flow at all MRT stations is closely monitored and service ambassadors are deployed when there is a need to better manage crowd build-up.

In addition, we work closely with the relevant agencies to provide additional support for any contingencies that may arise in our MRT network.

We have also highlighted Mr Ho's feedback on the ticketing machines to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), and will work closely with the LTA to continually improve the commuter experience.

Along with sleeper replacement, SMRT is working closely with the LTA on a number of concurrent projects to renew track infrastructure, upgrade the network's power system, expand the train fleet, as well as modernise various station facilities.

Details of these projects can be found on SMRT's website.

We thank Mr Ho for his feedback, and will continue working hard to improve the reliability of our rail network and the travel experience for all our commuters.

Patrick Nathan
Vice-President
Corporate Information and Communications
SMRT Corporation

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 05, 2017, with the headline Safety, security, comfort of commuters are SMRT's priority. Subscribe