SAFETY FIRST FOR CONCERTGOERS

As early as two months before the Taylor Swift concerts, the team at SMRT Trains had already begun preparing for how to disperse the crowd after the massive shows, which end at around 10.15pm.

They also drew on their experience managing the crowds during Coldplay's concerts.

After the last song is played, concertgoers typically make a beeline for Stadium MRT station, which is on the Circle Line managed and operated by SMRT Trains.

Mr Ang Chee Keong, 48, is in charge of ground operations at the station during Swift's run in Singapore. The SMRT service operations manager, who joined the organisation in 2022 and has been based at Stadium station since May 2023, oversees crowd control operations.

Even before the concerts, he attended regular meetings and site reconnaissance with other organisations to develop a comprehensive set of crowd management plans, including for wet weather.

When there is an event at the National Stadium, there can be as many as four times the number of staff at Stadium MRT station to help with crowd control.

These staff, who include service ambassadors and crowd control marshals, regulate the flow of commuters entering the station to avoid overcrowding the platform after the show.

Mr Ang also deploys staff at critical locations, such as escalator landings and fare gates, and liaises with Singapore Sports Hub to coordinate crowd dispersal operations.

If the platform is crowded, commuters enter the station in batches. Some commuters may be temporarily held at the fare gates until those on the platform have finished boarding the trains.

To speed up commuter flow, fare gates are kept open though commuters still need to tap their cards and the escalators' directions are changed to get more commuters down to the platform so they can avoid taking the stairs.

A special train timetable also kicks in to increase the frequency of trains and reduce waiting times. In addition, empty trains are on standby and can be activated to help with crowd dispersal.