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Members of the public waiting during a delay on the Thomson-East Coast line at Outram Park MRT station on Sept 17.
SINGAPORE – In the wake of recent rail disruptions, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow has acknowledged again that “we still can do better”, including giving commuters more accurate information on alternative routes and expected delays during an incident.
Responding to questions from MPs in the House on Sept 22, Mr Siow gave examples of how commuters can be better served during a disruption of service.
Instead of generic advisories, commuters should receive information tailored to their location. The information should also be centralised – possibly on a single app – so that commuters know where to look.
Currently, operators must inform commuters of delays exceeding 10 minutes, as required by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
Directional signs are another area for improvement, added Mr Siow.
He said that even with the recent disruptions, Singapore’s MRT network remains one of the most reliable globally. But he cautioned that with an expanding rail network, it is not possible “for us to drive down to zero disruptions”.
“Train delays happen in every system, in every city,” he said. “Our phones, our computers, have to be restarted every now and then. Cars will break down, too. So will our trains.”
Ongoing rail expansion projects include the sixth phase of the Circle Line, due to be completed in the first half of 2026, and the construction of the Jurong Region and Cross Island MRT lines.
On the recently announced task force looking into the latest spate of disruptions, Mr Siow said the group is being formed because “we want to take a harder look to satisfy ourselves that there is no systemic problem”.
Rail operator SMRT Trains said on Sept 17 that the three rail disruptions that occurred over four days in September on its lines were isolated cases and “not systemic issues across the rail network” .
Findings by the rail reliability task force, chaired by LTA chief executive Ng Lang, will be reported to Mr Siow regularly, and its final recommendations will be submitted by the end of 2025.
In all, MPs filed 18 questions on rail reliability, including the causes of the disruptions and the measures being taken to prevent future breakdowns.
Mr Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Changi GRC) asked if the Transport Ministry will raise Singapore’s rail reliability target further. Rail operators are rewarded when they achieve this target.
In 2017, a target was set for all MRT lines to experience delays of more than five minutes only once in every 1 million km of operations. This is an engineering measure known as mean kilometres between failures (MKBF).
Since 2019, Singapore has consistently performed above this benchmark.
Mr Siow said variations in MKBF beyond 1 million km between delays are less meaningful, especially when the number of disruptions every year is very small.
Citing the Downtown Line, which managed 8 million km in 2023 and 2024, he noted that having one additional delay halved the line’s MKBF to 4 million km.
In LTA’s latest rail reliability report, trains on the Downtown Line travelled 4.12 million km before delays in the 12 months ending June 2025, down from 8.13 million km in 2024.
Mr Siow also pointed out that the MKBF does not measure the length of a service disruption and therefore does not reflect the impact on passengers. It also does not differentiate between a complete service stoppage and less serious incidents, where trains continue to move and passengers can continue their journeys.
In recent years, rail operators were penalised an average of four times a year for serious service disruptions, noted Mr Siow. The impact on commuters during disruptions is taken into consideration when LTA determines financial penalties.
Mr Siow said he has asked LTA to provide the public with data in two fairly technical areas to give a fuller picture of rail performance.
The two areas are the punctuality of trains reaching each terminus and the share of scheduled distance covered by trains providing revenue service.
“We will be transparent because we have a good system, and we have nothing to hide,” Mr Siow added.
Over the last three months, there were at least 15 disruptions on the rail network.
These included faults at an electricity substation on Aug 12 that cut off power to several parts of the North East Line and the Sengkang-Punggol LRT system. The cause of these faults is still being investigated, said Mr Siow.
In the light of the expanding MRT network and increasing passenger demand, MPs such as Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Punggol GRC) asked what was being done to ensure sufficient resources and skills within the rail workforce to maintain reliability.
Mr Siow said the Transport Ministry works closely with the unions and rail operators to upgrade not only the hardware but also the “software”, ensuring that workers can handle newer systems and technologies that are being introduced.
Mr Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC) asked if the reduced fine of $2.4 million – down from $3 million – imposed on SMRT for a major six-day disruption on the East-West Line in September 2024 would lessen the deterrent effect of the penalty.
In response, Mr Siow said the fine imposed on the rail operator was “fairly significant”, after assessing its culpability in the incident.
He added that reducing the penalty was a fair decision, noting that SMRT had made a case that certain decisions were beyond its remit.
Under the law, rail operators can be fined up to $1 million or 10 per cent of its annual fare revenue of the MRT line, whichever is higher.
Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang West) wanted to know how LTA ensures that the rail assets procured are up to par and suppliers are held accountable in areas such as their contractual obligations and the equipment’s lifespan.
Mr Siow replied that LTA and the public transport operators have been working together to understand the causes of problems in the system, how the equipment work and when it is time to replace or repair them.
He described the process as open and collaborative, and said this way of working has improved rail performance.
Mr Siow said LTA would have to work with the vendors to ensure that their responsibilities are properly fulfilled.
He noted that vendors also attend crisis management meetings, and some even have offices within the operator’s depot.
[SRC] https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/more-accurate-info-for-public-in-rail-disruptions-among-fixes-being-looked-at-jeffrey-siow