Living in Singapore is made easy for several reasons and one of them is the fact that getting around the island is fairly simple due to the transit system. Both the buses and trains run on time and are very reliable. During peck time frames a MRT train will arrive every 2 minutes in most cases with 3 minutes being the longest wait you may encounter.
There are at present 3 MRT lines with a forth being build and due to be finished in a few years which will tie the other 3 lines together in a circular route.
Being a small island with a population of 4 million can have it draw backs and since most of the workers work in central par of the island or what we call downtown the remainder work some where along the southern end of Singapore such as Jorong, Tuas, the port area and Kallang to mention a few location. So every morning thousands board the MRT to head for work. An MRT train maxes out with about 1,200 passengers between the 6 cars so you can see there is not too much room when filled up but nothing when compare to Japan during the same peck hours. What would be really nice is if there were express trains in Singapore like in Japan to get you to a location faster but due to the size of the island and population I can understand why there isn’t any.
Trains start running between 5:30am and 6am depending on the station you are at with the last trains departing in the time frames of 11:27pm and 11:46pm so while out on the time these times you have to keep in mind so you will not miss your ride home. All time reflected here are from the first station on the lines.
If you need help finding the correct train to board you’ll find plenty of help for the MRT staff or even the persons on the platform waiting for a train. If you are pregnant or elderly you’ll most likely be offered a seat.
So with everything looking running so smoothly with the MRT what could be wrong you may ask? Will with the system nothing, but I’ll tell you some times the riders will really get on your nerves and make your journey to the office a trying one.
So let’s start form the beginning of your journey.
First you arrive at your station and check the time for the next train. You see you have 1 minute before it arrives and head strait for the escalator which are all marked telling people to stand to the left hand side if not in a hurry. Well what do you find when you get Ľ of the way Down the platform? That’s right some one just standing there blocking your pathway and will not move and act as if nothing is wrong, so you miss your train. When you arrive at the bottom of the escalator there you have a group of people talking blocking everyone path that is coming down.
Ok so now we have made it to the platform and we stand off to the side behind the yellow lines so when the next train arrives the passengers can unload with out being blocked and you can get on. Well that all sound good until the person arrives just stand right in front of the doors that will open, then another and another. So now you have a wall of people standing in front of the door awaiting the arrival of the train.
When the train arrives, the doors open the people need to push their way off the train though the crowd trying to push their way on to the train on for few seats open. Now you have to understand that the doors are only open for about 15 to 30 seconds some times during rush hours so this all happens quickly. So in this mad rush on and off the train people get stepped on, pushed and shoved aside to others can get the seat first. Now we also have those that don’t want a seat so what they will do is board the train and stand near the entrances so this blocks people trying to get to the center of the cars like the announcements asked everyone to do. But hey, maybe they are just going one stop.
So now we are on the train, you have kids sitting in the area of the door that are on the far side of the train form the platform, some one listing to music so loud that you can tap your foot to the beat. Then there are the handphones which are normally not a problem until you get that one uncle who is hard of hearing and talks way to loud to make up for his lost of hearing in both ears. Beside having to deal with all this if you where lucky enough to get a set you have the person next to you sleeping who will from time to time try to use your shoulder as a pillow, but this can be quit funny if you are the one standing by watching the ordeal of the person next to sleeper.
As the train approaches the next station people start to move towards the doors to unload. Here is where you can see some really things happen, why, because people on the train are waiting for that seat to open and once they spot it they will made a mad rush for it. This can include pushing some out of the way, blocking and cutting others off which is really funny when you see happen.
So let us say you are a visitor to Singapore you may find some of this really upsetting since hardly anyone (but some will) will say or show simple curtsey by saying, “excuse me” or “I’m sorry”. But if you live in Singapore this is a normal part of daily life so I fail to understand why some Singaporeans get upset when it happens to them. This is the way it is here in Singapore so why make a big fuss over it when some one pushes then or steps on the back of their shoes and doesn’t say anything!
Over all the MRT trains are the best things going when you need to get around Singapore. Cheap fares and quick rides are the MRT.
So next time you ride the MRT and you get pushed, kicked, cutoff, slept on or had the chance to enjoy someone else’s MP3 song, smile because you could be walking.
Warren's Singapore 2008