Supermarket trolley on NEL train gets netizens asking 'how did they bypass security?'

It's not uncommon to see people on the train lugging groceries back home after work, but what about an entire supermarket trolley full of goods, including the trolley itself?

A commuter encountered this at Farrer Park MRT station along the North East Line on Thursday (Aug 17) evening, sharing a photo of the trolley in a post to Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Friday. 

Plastic bags bearing the brand of Mustafa Centre can be seen sitting in the trolley, suggesting that the commuter might have brought this trolley in from the shopping mall.

Many netizens expressed confusion towards this incident, wondering how the commuter even managed to bring the trolley on board.

"Um, how did they bypass security and MRT staff?" one questioned.

Said another: "How come the staff at the counter or security MRT did not notice he bring trolley to the MRT? This must be a fake photo."

A Facebook user also guessed: "Some stations have a few entry points and when it's crowded, staff and security can't see [clearly once] people are in huge groups."

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One comment suggested that netizens be more open-minded: "Perhaps this fellow isn't aware that they can't bring the trolley home? I wonder if anyone [told them] about it. 

"Let's give them the benefit of the doubt."

While there doesn't appear to be regulations specific to trolleys on board the train, it is worth mentioning that large-sized objects brought on board trains must adhere to the Land Transport Authority's regulations.

Items must be within the dimensions of 90cm x 60cm x 30cm; personal mobility aids, strollers, prams and bicycles are allowed on board but must be within 120cm in width and 70cm in length.

Convenience for you, cost for them

While bringing around a supermarket trolley filled with one's purchases may be easier than lugging them around by hand, this convenience only extends to the shopper.

"On average, the costs of repairing, replacing and retrieving unreturned trolleys is about $150,000 a year," a FairPrice spokesperson told The Straits Times last year. 

Unreturned trolleys have created such a problem for supermarkets that the Municipal Services Office (MSO) implemented a "Spot Abandoned Trolleys" feature in its OneService app, which was launched in April 2016.

Mustafa Centre is one of the supermarket chains benefitting from the app, which also sees use by FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Giant and Cold Storage.

MSO, under the Ministry of National Development, said in the same report that it received 6,559 reports of abandoned trolleys in 2021 through the app.

In 2019, 5,429 reports were made, and 6,662 in 2020.

AsiaOne has reached out to NEL service operator SBS Transit for comment.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com