By: Philip Ang
Commuters are furious with a constantly breaking down MRT system which has set a new record: train delays 4 days in a row. But this record will not stand for long because the system was not designed for the current population..Worse, it is increasing.
From 2010 to 2015, the population increased by an average of about 90,000 annually. This has forced the MRT system to run at max speed and frequency. Stress testing?
The PAP was forced to come up with the CCL in the 1990s because some wooden headed PM had taken the FT shortcut to ramp up the GDP. CCL is typical PAP firefighting aka long term planning. The CCL was not factored into our long term planning because our target population in 1991 was only 4 million somewhere around 2030 to 2040.
Further confirmation that the CCL was not designed to handle a 5.5 million population:
– The population in the mid 1990’s was only 3.5 million
– In 20 years, it has increased by 2 million or 57%.
– No sane country increases its population using such planning parameters.
Since PAP is clearly intent on increasing the population to 6.9 million and beyond, there will clearly be worse breakdowns on CCL akan datang.
Lee Kuan Yew had also confirmed the current population wasn’t within the planning parameters. In 2007, when Singapore’s population was 4.5 million, LKY said our optimal population was 5.5 million. But PM Lee didn’t give a hoot about what his dad had said and within 8 years, we hit 5.5 million.
PAP is clearly not bothered about train breakdowns which don’t affect the elites but it doesn’t have a choice. If it doesn’t continue to increase the population at this alarming rate, our GDP will fall off the cliff.
Despite our MRT system requiring an overhaul, PAP merely engages in propaganda and talk some more cock on MSM. But this seems to have worked wonders commuters who supported screwing themselves with a broken system.
CCL may just come to a complete standstill one day. The writing has been on the wall for years.