SINGAPORE — Commuters taking the train this Monday (March 5) will notice something a little different about SMRT’s staff: their uniforms.

On Friday (March 2), SMRT unveiled a new look that 5,000 of its staff – including frontline station staff, train captains and operations controllers, as well as technicians and maintenance crew – will be adopting.

However, the most striking change commuters will notice would be the bright red jackets worn by staff at the various stations.

Explaining the rationale behind its design decision, SMRT said the lighter colours “project a modern and professional image”. They also serve a more practical purpose by allowing staff to be easily identified in a crowd by commuters who need assistance.

The new look for each of the departments “incorporates features which were recommended by staff” following a “year-long engagement and trials with staff as well as consultation with the Union” said SMRT.

For instance the new t-shirts for maintenance staff uses absorbent cotton “as they spend a lot of time outdoors”, while pants and skorts have a loop at the sides for “stations staff to hang their radios sets, freeing up their hands for work.”

“Comfort, functionality and safety are key considerations in deciding features of the final design for the new uniform,” said SMRT Chief Corporate Officer, Mr Gerard Koh.

Mr Koh added that SMRT regularly reviews the work attire of its staff to ensure they continue to meet their needs regardless of where they are deployed. 
SMRT last underwent a uniform revamp in 2010.

“Most importantly, we want our staff to feel proud to wear their uniforms as ambassadors for our company,” said Mr Koh.

Friday’s unveiling of the image revamp for its personnel comes amidst a slew of changes that SMRT has recently introduced in the past week, after being plagued by a series of technical issues which affected its rail reliability in 2017.

On Wednesday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced the introduction of two new SMRT trains sporting foldable “tip-up” seats that can help to accommodate more commuters and ease the peak-hour crunch are set to go into operation in the second half of this year on the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL).

Aside from the new seats, 12 new trains made by Japanese-Chinese consortium Kawasaki-Sifang will be the first to bear the LTA’s red and green livery.

LTA’s logo will also be featured on the trains for the first time, reflecting the move of all rail assets from rail operator SMRT to the Government under the New Rail Financing Framework.

On Tuesday, SMRT announced it would be redesigning its stations’ passenger service to improve commuter experience and staff productivity in the hopes of boosting rail reliability.

The redesign of passenger services centres was influenced by the Japanese concept of Kaizen, which means “change for the better”, employed by the company’s management, engineers, and staff in the past month. The concept was also used to make changes to workflow processes at SMRT’s Tuas depot over the past month.