<h3>Track Troubles<h3>

KTM Tracks At Kulai Damaged. Trains Will Have To Take A Detour.

The Don was on his way to KTM station at Tanjong Pagar to get train tickets for my Mom to Pahang when he decided to stop for fuel. Miraculously his sharp eyes caught the headline on The New Paper about the collapsed bridge and immediately called me in the office to check with KTM itself.

My mom intended to go up to Pahang to help with my cousin's engagement preparations, which would be held later this week. Since The Don and I will be driving up anyway on Friday night, we convinced her to shelve her plans and go with us instead.

Indeed, the bridge at Kulai, Johor, was badly damaged by floodwaters, making it completely unpassable to trains Northbound from Singapore. The arrangement by KTM, for busses to ferry passengers from one train station to another, was the best they could do, I suppose, given the circumstances but a dreadful inconvenience all the same.

I wonder what would have happened had the grocer who alerted the authorities, not managed to spot the damage in time, or worse, decided not to do anything about what he saw. I understand that whatever happened is an "act of God" and that the KTM people cannot possibly run up and down all of its 2,262 km of track everyday. But I am sure some means of alerting is possible especially given how often Malaysia suffers floods. For god's sake a train was scheduled to pass by that bridge in just 20 minutes on that fateful day. What would have happened to the people on board had the mghty Hero not come to save the day ?

I am dreadfully worried because my mother quite frequently takes the train to go to Temerloh, Pahang. A bus ride will take almost double the time and the nearest airport is 2hrs away by road, in Kuantan. The Don and I try to send her up whenever we can but sometimes it is just impossible.

I really do hope that KTM comes up with some other means of alert rather than merely depend on the sense of civic duty in fellow citizens. Let's not wait untill a major disaster strike before anything is done.

PS: In case u were wondering, I did managed to escape the fire drill yesterday, I voluntereed to be the one to stay behind in case some urgent matter cropped up or clients came by unannounced. I was basking in the full comfort of the office air-con while my colleagues sweated it out climbing down stairs and waiting endlessly at the assembly area. Ooohhh the sweet smell of victory!!!!