Tuas firms and workers affected by prolonged suspension of train service
Commuters are seen at Joo Koon Station on Day Two of suspended train services between Joo Koon and Tuas Link stations. Photo: Koh Mui Fong/TODAY
SINGAPORE — With the train service between Joo Koon and Gul Circle stations suspended for up to a month, firms told TODAY their workers are planning to leave their homes earlier to get to work on time.
At least one company has also found it difficult to secure transport for their employees at such short notice.
Nevertheless, other companies located along the Tuas West Extension shrugged off the suspension of the train services, as they already provide private transport services for their workers.
The Tuas West Extension — which covers the Gul Circle, Tuas Crescent, Tuas West Road and Tuas Link MRT stations — will be suspended till Sunday (Nov 19) in order to conduct checks, after a train collision on Wednesday at Joo Koon station left dozens of commuters injured. During the suspension of service, bridging buses will ply the route.
While the train service between Gul Circle and Tuas Link will resume on Monday, there will be no train service between Joo Koon and Gul Circle for up to a month. Bridging buses will ferry commuters between the two stations. For some commuters, this means transferring from the train to the bus bridging service between Joo Koon and Gul Circle before continuing their journey on the train network.
Human resource manager Pauline Wong from marine supply store Pamarine said the company was unable to get a private transport operator to ferry its employees because of the short notice. “It is also quite uncertain at this moment (how long the services will be suspended for),” she added. Pamarine, which is located along Tuas West Road, saw one of its workers injured in the collision, said Ms Wong.
Ms Annie Tan, a personal assistant at heavy vehicles company Peck Tiong Choon which is located at Tuas Crescent, said her employer offered to extend private transport arrangements for its staff for a month. But she turned it down. “Our boss offered… but you cannot push SMRT’s responsibility to the employers, to help to provide these services,” she said. The company had arranged for staff to be picked up from Joo Koon station on Thursday, when the authorities suspended services for a day before announcing the suspension would be extended. Ms Tan added that the employees will be factoring in extra travelling time during this period, since it would take longer for them to get to work on buses.
For Mapei Far East, which manufactures building materials, its spokesperson said the company already provides private transport services for its workers to ferry them between their workplace in Tuas West Road and other parts of the island.
But she added that the firm might adjust the drop-off and pick-up points according to the ground situation. For example, after the incident at Joo Koon station, one of the drop-off points was moved from there to Pioneer station on Thursday and Friday, she said.
