Chartered buses - no problem. Chartered trains - wait, you can actually do that?
In a surprisingly extravagant measure of utter one-upmanship, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) has actually chartered five SMRT trains to transport students and staff directly from its Dover Road campus to the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang, where a rugby championship match will take place between ACS(I) and St Andrew's Secondary, according to various media reports.
It's a historic occasion, where two rugby powerhouses will slug it out in the Schools National C Division rugby championship final at the newly constructed National Stadium for the first time. A whopping estimation of 5,000 ACS(I) supporters will be traveling to the stadium by train.
In a statement to the Straits Times, ACS(I) principal Winston Hodge explained that chartering trains are "a cost-efficient way of bringing them from school to the Sports Hub safely and with ease", and that they would have needed 80 buses at least if they chose that option.
Some netizens have already sounded concerns about how chartering trains could even be possible, considering the increasingly unsatisfactory issues with train services in recent years.
On the SMRT end, they've assured to the Straits Times that "chartered trains run between normal train services and strictly within off-peak hours only", adding that "SMRT believes in supporting local education and national initiatives and will continue this support without compromising our core service delivery in ensuring reliable, safe journeys for all passengers".
SMRT and ACS(I) have kept mum about how much money was involved, but we can imagine the whole thing costs quite a bit - and it's all being paid for by the school's parents support group.
Naturally, Singaporeans are expressing their bewilderment over this grandiose endeavour, landing itself in the latest slew of memes on local humor page SGAG. A clip of the school's motto "The Best Is Yet To Be" flashing on the train's electronic information board has even been spotted online.
Photo: SMRT Facebook page, SGAG Facebook Page
Read Also: See red, yellow and green at 10 more MRT stations
Chartered buses - no problem. Chartered trains - wait, you can actually do that?
In a surprisingly extravagant measure of utter one-upmanship, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) has actually chartered five SMRT trains to transport students and staff directly from its Dover Road campus to the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang, where a rugby championship match will take place between ACS(I) and St Andrew's Secondary, according to various media reports.
It's a historic occasion, where two rugby powerhouses will slug it out in the Schools National C Division rugby championship final at the newly constructed National Stadium for the first time. A whopping estimation of 5,000 ACS(I) supporters will be traveling to the stadium by train.
In a statement to the Straits Times, ACS(I) principal Winston Hodge explained that chartering trains are "a cost-efficient way of bringing them from school to the Sports Hub safely and with ease", and that they would have needed 80 buses at least if they chose that option.
Some netizens have already sounded concerns about how chartering trains could even be possible, considering the increasingly unsatisfactory issues with train services in recent years.
On the SMRT end, they've assured to the Straits Times that "chartered trains run between normal train services and strictly within off-peak hours only", adding that "SMRT believes in supporting local education and national initiatives and will continue this support without compromising our core service delivery in ensuring reliable, safe journeys for all passengers".
SMRT and ACS(I) have kept mum about how much money was involved, but we can imagine the whole thing costs quite a bit - and it's all being paid for by the school's parents support group.
Naturally, Singaporeans are expressing their bewilderment over this grandiose endeavour, landing itself in the latest slew of memes on local humor page SGAG. A clip of the school's motto "The Best Is Yet To Be" flashing on the train's electronic information board has even been spotted online.
Photo: SMRT Facebook page, SGAG Facebook Page
Read Also: See red, yellow and green at 10 more MRT stations