CHALLENGES abound for the operator of any mass rapid transit system, but experience and a good working relationship with the regulatory authority should overcome them and ensure a successful project.
Some of the challenges facing a train operator include a heavy commitment of resources during the tender process and the long gestation period required to pull these resources together before revenue operations can take place, says Khoo Hean Siang, senior vice-president for engineering and projects at SMRT Trains.
He said SMRT has spent and will spend between $70 million and $80 million to get the upcoming Circle Line (CCL) operationally ready ? before realising even the first revenue dollar.
The $6.8 billion Circle Line is an orbital line linking the mass rapid transit system lines running into the city. It is due to open in mid-2009.
Other difficulties an operator faces include the fact that ridership takes years to build up, and that there is a burn-in period when the operator needs to manage public expectations in the event of a breakdown in the system.
Mr Khoo was giving a keynote address at Asia Rail 2008. The rail conference, which is taking place at the InterContinental Hotel, brings together industry experts from the Asia-Pacific region. It opened yesterday and ends on Friday.
With the CCL, SMRT's immediate task was to ready the project management process, which involves the design review, factory and field acceptance tests, the process audit, testing and commissioning and a trial run before operations.
"For them to take place smoothly, technically competent and operationally experienced people are needed for the job," said Mr Khoo, adding that SMRT has the manpower and resources to commit full-time staff to work with the Land Transport Authority on the CCL and provide input from an operator's perspective.
SMRT has more than 20 years of rail operating experience. Besides running the bulk of the existing 138km rail network here, the company is involved in consultancy projects overseas.
"A rail operator with experience would also be able to define the principles of operational efficiency to ensure that processes are put in place for the system to operate in normal, degraded and emergency modes," Mr Khoo said.
SMRT's experience also allowed it to give LTA input from a design perspective.
For example, SMRT detected a potential choke point in the CCL system during the design of the reception track.
It managed to convince the authority to include an additional reception track in the depot. "The need to involve the appointed rail operator in the early stages of a rail project is significant," said Mr Khoo.
He added that with the operator coming on board early in the process, the regulatory authority, designer and operator are able to pinpoint and iron out details that would have an impact later, when the rail line is in operation.
There are other, minor, challenges as well. Mr Khoo pointed to staff training for new technology to be learned, staff turnover and even poaching by competitors.
And in the case of the CCL, the new line will increase passenger load but reduce revenue because of the shorter average distance travelled.
This article was first published in The Business Times on Nov 19, 2008.
