Bukit Brown MRT Station

Following a private email response to my Sunday Rantings (previous blog), I just want to show some evidence of Bukit Brown MRT Station, which is not usually indicated on most official transit maps.
It is situated between Caldecott and Botanic Garden on the Circle Line.

The Bukit Brown MRT station is located at an empty plot (at the moment) at Jalan Mashhor, near Andrew Road where I work.
It is only a 'shell' station, i.e. the station concrete form has been built but not fitted out to function as an operational platform.
When it will be operational is subject to the development of the area around the station.

Mediacorp is moving out in 2016 and that will also free up a huge plot of land nearby.
The Bukit Brown station is adjacent to and sandwiched between the 2 huge cemeteries there;
the Bukit Brown Cemetery and the Chinese Cemetery at Mt Pleasant.

This is the Bukit Brown MRT Station as it stands today 2011.

Like Marina Bay MRT Station, where the station was built years before the surrounding Financial Centre or MBS was conceptualized, the Bukit Brown area will eventually be developed, cemeteries not withstanding.

Here is another official LTA map showing future MRT stations.
You might want to consider buying some real estate nearby?

Click on map for detailed view.

Update on Bukit Brown blog. 16 Dec 2011.

I was on the Circle Line yesterday from Serangoon to Holland Village and had the chance to 'pass through Bt Brown underground. 

About 1 min after leaving Caldecott station, you start to hear a change in the sound of the rushing train due to the air space at Bukit Brown.

If you sit facing the starboard (right) side windows, you can see part of the space that will be Bukit Brown Station. It's just an empty space and you can see right across to other other tracks going in the opposite direction.

Surviving the train crush

Complaints of overcrowding on the trains have escalated over the past few years and reached a crescendo just before the recent general elections. Denials, spins and excuses from the operators and 'authorities' have led to widespread frustration by commuters. The local Net is full of blogs over this issue ad nauseam.

Apparently, the train operators, being public companies, have to ensure that its bottom line is priority.  Even the gahmen gives all out support to ensure that the operations are not running at a loss.

The train operators claimed that the lines are maximized to capacity and it would be difficult to add more trains or increase frequency. With  a burgeoning workforce, the situation can only get worse. Passenger comfort and quality of service don'y seem to be a priority for them to resolve. The proof is simply to go to any station during rush hour. Enuff said.

Yesterday, my sister Stephenie was so stressed out, especially after reading the Oct 11th Stomp article about how commuters were forced to wait till the 4th train passing before being able to board. She was one of those who experienced this twice at Bukit Batok and Jurong East Stations.

Click here to read the Stomp article

I am luckier in that I don't take the train so often nowadays, but I do empathize with my fellow commuters.
Just last week, I had a 5-day assignment at the Ministry of Education at Buona Vista starting at 8 am each morning. That meant I had to join the crowd to get there from Bukit Batok Station, with a transfer at Jurong East Station.

It is extremely difficult to board the trains at Bukit Batok,  being the last stop before the terminal at Jurong East. The train is already filled to the brim and you just hope some students, heading for school in the vicinity, will get off so that you can squeeze into that vacated space.

Next, the train discharges the full load at Jurong East, adding to the crowd already there who have yet to make the connection to the city-bound trains. It's really CHAOTIC!

Transfer at Jurong East Station (pic from TNP)

SMRT recently opened an additional platform at Jurong East, which helps to distribute the in-coming passengers from the Bukit Batok line, but its a zero sum game as the same number of city-bound trains still take the transfer paxes from Jurong East!  It's just less crowding on the platform but not on the trains.

As I am powerless to do anything about the overcrowding, I'll just share what goes through my mind in these situations.

These are my pet peeves on the MRT trains:-


1. No hand holds near the door area.
It's a funny paradox.
They don't provide hand holds near the door area in order to force you further inside the car. But the car is already full and you can only stand near the door area a lot of the time!
You have to be as acrobatic as a gymnast throughout the ride - balancing with the sway, doing knee flexs, toe curls and bum shiftings. All because you have nothing to hold on to.
Passenger safety was never in the minds of the operators.

There's always a crush near the doors as commuters tend not to squeeze once they move 'further in'. So while the door area is packed, it appears that there are actually more space 'inside'.
Commuters also fear that they can't get out easily once they move too far in!

2. Pole leaners and dual hand holders
Inconsiderate passengers who lean on the grab pole for their own support. I normally won't tell them off but instead let them feel my knuckles against their back or arms. Then there are some will will hold on to 2 hanging hand holds.

3. Backpackers.
Idiotic commuters who don't have the sense to remove their backpacks. What's worst is that they are unaware that it's knocking into others. The backpacks only take up more space.

4. Fear of pickpocket or accidental contact.
As I have a habit of carrying my wallet in my back pocket, I have this nagging fear of pickpockets in the crowd. Men also face the awkward problem of where to put their hands for fear of accidental contact and for some lady to scream accusations of trying to be funny with roaming hands. It doesn't really happen but there's always this fear.

5. B O !
Not too bad in the mornings but woe be you in the evening rush hour!

I fear that unless something tragic happens not much will change in the near future.


In my next blog, I'll tell you of my own experiences on the Tokyo rush hour morning trains.

Here is the link to that blog:

Crowded Tokyo trains worse than Singapore MRT?

Why it's called Novena

To many people in Singapore, Novena means either the MRT station at Thomson Road,  the shopping malls that grew around it or simply that upper class district of Newton and its surrounding area.

The name Novena actually derives from a religious practice centered at the Church of St Alphonsus at Thomson Road. The Redemptorist friars have been conducting Catholic devotional prayer sessions every Saturday for the past 7 decades without fail. The prayer sessions are directed through Saint Mary, the mother of Jesus, under the title Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help.


This devotional prayer session is called a novena.

The novena consists of a series of repetitive prayers conducted over 9 days or 9 weeks culminating in a special 'feast' in honor of the saint to whom the devotion is made. Novena is Latin meaning nine.

This is in line with the Catholic theology of "the communion of saints". The belief that the Catholic church comprises members both present and past. Living members seek the intercession of past members (esp saints) whom they believe are now in heaven to pray, petition and intercede on their behalf.

These novenas have attracted so much devotees over the past decades, to the extent that most people do not recall the name of the church but know it simply as the Novena Church.

From this devotional practice, the term novena spread from the church to its surrounding, and thus, we now have Novena MRT Station, Novena Square, Novena Medical Center, and with many roads and condominiums there named after Novena.

Coming back to the origin, the Novena to Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, runs over 9 weeks and culminates in a big procession in September each year.

This year the novena procession was held on Sunday 4th September.
It was so crowded that I could only take pictures of the event from where I stood.

My own poor estimate of the crowd today
would be about 20,000 people this year

Procession of the icon of Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help

This was taken about 2 hours before the start.
Already packed to the brim. (kneeling room only! ha ha)

Devotees even spilled over across Thomson Road
despite being divided by 2 lanes of  busy road traffic !

Click on the above pictures for detailed view

Shitty service from a shitty bank

I hold a credit card which doubles as my stored value card for riding the MRT trains. The card was issued by a major bank, which I shall not name but will refer to as Shitty Bank.

As of 1st Oct 2009, the MRT train operator replaced their electronic ticketing system to a new system called CEPAS. All the existing entry cards had to be changed to the new CEPAS compliant card for use after 1st Oct. My credit card was not CEPAS compliant and had to be changed too.

A week before Oct, I tried calling Shittybank on their 'Platinum Service Hotline'. Boy, was it hot! Couldn't get through after umpteen attempts and finally succumbed to their last resort... "leave your number and we will get back to you". I did get a call from them after 2 days and know what the guy from the call center said when I inquired about replacing my card to a CEPAS card?

"I am sorry I am with phone banking. You have to call our hotline to get your CEPAS card replacement" ????!!!???@*#@***
"Hello? Isn't it stupid when your hotline tells me to leave my number and then you tell me to call the hotline again!!, I can't get through your hotline" (expletives removed by me)
"Sorry sir, I'll leave a note for the right party to call you. Have a nice day." @*&**!!!

The next day, I did get a call from someone from Shittybank. Unfortunately, I was in the midst of a meeting and asked for him to call back later. I never did receive another call again.

Last week, I got a call from Shittybank again.
Good, I thought, finally someone remembered me.
But it was from someone who was trying to sell me some investment plan!

"Miss, I said, if you look at your computer records you'll probably see that I called a month ago requesting for a card replacement. Your customer service is so bad and you want me to buy more stuff from you? You better get your act together first before I'll even consider using any of your services!" Poor girl, not her fault but I just had to take it out on her. Apologies.

Today I received a letter from Shittybank!
Did my CEPAS replacement finally arrived? There's something hard inside the envelope!
But no, the accompanying note said.. "Thank you for your feedback on your CEPAS compliant card replacement. As a gesture of goodwill, we would like you to have these two $10 Tangs vouchers....."
Hey, I don't need your vouchers! I want my CEPAS card! Sigh.

Anyway, feeling a bit guilty over bawling out that investment girl, I thought I'd try again to call the bank to thank them for the vouchers, say sorry to that girl and to finally get a replacement order for my CEPAS card.

Diallling xxxx 7777..

Thank you for calling Shitty Bank
We recently changed our Menu to make your banking experience quicker and easier..
Pls press 1 for....
1
Welcome to Shittybank, The bank that NEVER SLEEPS.
Pls enter your NRIC or 16 digit atm number or Credit card no...
xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

Unfortunately our automated banking is unavailable at the moment. Pls try again soon. One moment while we transfer you...

We are curently experiencing a high volume of calls and may not be abe to connect you..
Press 1 to leave your number for our officer to call you before 6pm the next working day...

1.

Unfortunately our automated banking is unavailable at the moment. Pls try again soon. One moment while we transfer you...

Line cuts off.

Sometimes, things like these makes me really feel like we're really part of a Dilbert cartoon.
It's been 6 weeks since that first incident with Shittybank and I still don't have a CEPAS card.

I am back to using my EZ-Link CEPAS card from the transit operator.

What happened to simple common courtesy nowadays?

I commute to work by public transport. I ride the MRT from my home at Bukit Batok to my workplace at Boon Lay at least 5 days a week.

For the past few years, the train operators have tried to make those seats nearest the exits available for those in real need of it, i.e. pregnant ladies, the elderly or physically disabled.
Beginning with the "Please give up this seat to people who need it" to the "Priority Seat" to the latest and more forceful "Reserved Seating".

Alas, I don't see that the latest concept by the train operators is any different from the previous, meaning its effectiveness is just as suspect. The problem from my personal perspective is that commuters (ugly singaporeans?) have not reached that level of graciousness to understand what Priority or Reserved means.

Most of the time you will notice the rush and the beeline straight for those seats, heck care the signs. The next thing they do is pretend to sleep, put on their MP3 or text on their mobiles till they get off, oblivious to all around them

Hey, when you go to restaurant and see a Reserved sign, you don't plonk yourself down but look for another table! So what's the difference here? In Japan, Korea or Canada, you will see able bodied passengers standing beside the empty seat, knowing that it is 'reserved' for the needy. Their train culture has reached a level of maturity that had been infused into their civic consciousness.

While I am all for the idea for giving up seats for those who need them, simply putting up 'another campaign' signage is ineffective in the absence of proper commuter education. When, or if ever, we can reach an acceptable level of graciousness, then even the concept of reserved seats become redundant. Every seat in the cabin will be offered up for any one who needs it! Sadly, that'll be the day, which probably will not be in my lifetime.

The passenger train culture here has a long long way to go to reach first world standard. Today we gripe about not giving way, not moving inside, eating on board, not being courteous, etc. Yet we are the ones who need to make the first move. Even shaming individuals on public forums like Stomp website will do little to improve the situation without effort from both the public and the operators. In our nanny state, I guess we are all waiting for someone else to set the rules and tell us how to behave even for such minor courtesies. Sigh.

Have a look at this latest attempt by the train operators, which I personalLy feel is real crass. Message is ok but the presentation sucks. Of all people, snot picking PCK as an example of graciousness. What a joke and you expect people to listen to his message?



I am getting old and grouchy. If one day you see me hobbling into the train, I hope there's a seat reserved for me.