In a 2012 pilot program, SMRT trains began announcements of station names in both English and Mandarin Chinese so as to help Mandarin Chinese-speaking senior citizens cope better with the sudden increase in new stations. However, this received mixed reactions from the public. Some people pointed out that there were senior citizens who did not speak Mandarin, while others complained of feeling alienated. In reaction to this, SMRT claimed that the announcements were only recorded in English and Mandarin because the Malay and Tamil names of stations sounded very similar to the English names.