Final Reader Response

Reader’s Response on “Dubbed 'the best in class”

In the article “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system “, reported by Lee (2015) stated that he believed one of the world’s most profitable system is Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC). Lee (2015) complemented that Hong Kong passengers rarely experience train delay even during peak hours. It was cited by Lee (2015) that MTRC did not experienced any delays for 99.9% of the time as compared to Singapore which stands at 96%. The high train frequency has helped to manage the crowd and provide a smoother transport experience. MTRC invested heavily on maintenance, renewal and ways to keep the system operating efficiently together by spending over HK$6 billion, around 37 percent of MTRC’s revenue in 2014. In addition, MTRC ensured that their system is well-monitored by the Super Operations Control Centre (OCC) which produce fast problem identification and problem solving to prevent any shortcomings. 

Based on the statistics presented, MTRC has invested a huge amount of their revenue to its maintenance compared to Singapore’s SMRT. Lee (2015) believed that SMRT is under-investing on rail maintenance. I agree to a certain extend that the higher budget used by MTRC as compared to SMRT is reasonable and realistic although, it could have taken into account other aspects that may influence their expenditure.

Firstly, we should take into consideration the age of the train system. MTRC was founded in 1979 while, Singapore established SMRT in 1987. Despite MTRC being an aging system, it is still well-maintained and hold fast to its high standards of cleanliness and efficiency. Thus, considering the aging MTRC’s railway system, the maintenance budget expenditure should be heavily invested more than Singapore to ensure stability. An article (Almenoar, 2015) strongly reinforced that an aging system should step up more on its maintenance as compared to a newer system.

Secondly, MTRC has a larger scale of railway network system and this naturally contributed to a higher maintenance expenditure (“Country Size Comparison”, n.d.). Hong Kong is nearly twice the size of Singapore (“Country Size Comparison”, n.d.). Considering the size of both countries, MTRC is calculated to have a longer daily route length of 221km with all nine commuter lines as compared to SMRT’s combined length of 168km with all five main commuter lines. Therefore, the size of the railway network system should be considered when making such comparison. Having more train stations and higher mileage travelled, it would eventually result in train’s wear and tear issue. If maintenance frequency is not sufficient, there will likely be an increase amount of trains breakdown and delay. Donohue (2014) stated that about 25% of the subway trains run by New York Subway Transit were late and one of cause was due to the lack of maintenance.  Considering that MTRC ought to provide frequent maintenance work, it means that their maintenance budget will possibly be higher than SMRT’s.

However, I agree that MTRC has performed exceptionally well as compared to SMRT. The statistic showed that the average breakdown of MTRC system was one in every 300,000 km travelled while SMRT was one in every 137,000 km travelled. In my opinion, I feel that MTRC’s preventive maintenance has paid off. Having to walk the train tracks once in every three days and using ultrasonic technology aid them to detect faults before any faults occur.

Despite MTRC being an aging system and about two times larger as compared to SMRT, there are some positive pointers SMRT can learn from MTRC. SMRT can look into their maintenance frequency, types of technology used and at the same time, compare with other renowned rail systems to further reduce the number of breakdowns occurring.



References:

Lee. M. K. (2015). Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/dubbed-the-best-in-class-6-things-about-hong-kongs-mtr-rail-system#xtor=CS1-10

Almenoar, M. (2015). Need to step up maintenance of train system. Retrieved from
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/need-to-step-up-maintenance-of-train-system-lui-tuck-yew

Donohue, P. (2014). MTA stats show more subway trains are late. Retrieved from
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-stats-show-subway-trains-late-article-1.2046071


“Country Size Comparison” (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/country-size-comparison/hong-kong/singapore

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