MRT reliability hits another record high in September

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SINGAPORE: The reliability of the MRT network, excluding the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), hit a record high in the 12 months ending September, according to the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) monthly report published on Thursday (Oct 15).

The MRT network's mean kilometres between failures (MKBF) rose to 3.38 million train-km, up from 2.88 million train-km in August - at that time, a new record as well.  

This marked the sixth consecutive month that the overall MRT network's MKBF exceeded 2 million train-km.

Individually, all five MRT lines included in the overall network figure had an MKBF above 1 million train-km.

LTA publishes its reliability figures using a 12-month moving average of MKBF, which measures the average distance travelled before a delay of more than five minutes occurs. A higher MKBF indicates better reliability.

The September figures are provisional and subject to adjustment pending ongoing incident investigations.

Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said on Thursday that as Singapore's MRT network continues to grow, the focus will have to shift towards "more and better maintenance" as the number of assets increases and some begin to age.

"We have to keep up the work that enables us to keep a high level of reliability," he told reporters at the Ten Mile Junction Depot.

Mr Siow noted that the MRT network has recorded more than 2 million train-km between failures for six consecutive months, describing it as a "sustained period of good performance" that was "quite unprecedented".

"We have never done (that) before," Mr Siow said of crossing the 3 million mark.

He stressed, however, that the MKBF would "not continue to go up forever", noting that it is calculated on a rolling 12-month basis.

Mr Siow pointed to the North East Line, which has not had a disruption for a year and has therefore reached what he described as the "theoretical maximum" for the metric.

OVERALL RELIABILITY

The Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) is not included in the overall reliability performance of the MRT network. This is because MKBF provides a reasonable indicator for reliability of mature rail lines but has its limitations, especially for newer ones, LTA said.

A newer rail line in its early stages tends to operate significantly lower mileage, especially since ridership remains relatively low and trains are not being operated at more typical frequencies, the authority said.

The latest MKBF figures improved across most MRT lines, with the exception of the Downtown Line, which saw its MKBF decline from 8.37 million train-km to 4.19 million train-km.

The MKBF for the Circle Line improved from 2.51 million train-km in August to 2.57 million train-km, while the North East Line's MKBF edged up to 4.5 million train-km from 4.48 million train-km.

The North-South Line and East-West Line also saw improvements, going up to 2.48 million train-km and 3.36 million train-km respectively.

The TEL's MKBF also rose to 498,000 train-km from 415,000 train-km in August.

LTA attributed the high MKBF levels over the past six months to the “sustained effort and dedication” of transport workers and rail operators to improve reliability and their response to faults and incidents, as well as ongoing upgrading and maintenance work.

"It also reflects the impact of the recommendations made by the Rail Reliability Taskforce in February 2026, which LTA, SMRT, and SBST have been following up on," LTA said.

The overall LRT network - which consists of Bukit Panjang LRT and Sengkang-Punggol LRT - had a dip in September, with its trains averaging 622,000 car-km between failures. The figure for August was 734,000 car-km.

Bukit Panjang LRT's MKBF remained unchanged at 443,000 car-km in September, while the Sengkang-Punggol LRT's fell to 776,000 car-km from 1.08 million car-km in August.

Mr Siow said renewal works on the Bukit Panjang LRT, which began in 2018, included replacing trains and upgrading its signalling and power systems, with the remaining works expected to be completed by the end of this year.

TRAIN SERVICE DELIVERY AND PUNCTUALITY

LTA also uses other metrics to measure rail reliability, including train service delivery and train punctuality.

Train service delivery measures how much of the scheduled train mileage was actually operated, while train punctuality measures the percentage of trips completed within two minutes of schedule at the end of a line or turnaround point.

The overall MRT network saw its train service delivery increase in September, up to 99.84 per cent. It was 99.62 per cent in August.

Three of the five MRT lines recorded improvements. The East-West Line was unchanged, while the North East Line declined.

The North-South Line increased to 99.96 per cent, while the Circle Line and Downtown Line went up to 99.79 per cent and 99.60 per cent, respectively.

The East-West Line saw no change in September, remaining at 99.96 per cent. The North East Line dropped to 99.86 per cent from 99.90 per cent.

For September, the overall MRT network saw an increase in its train punctuality. It went up to 99.36 per cent, from 99.03 per cent in August.

Only the North East Line saw a dip, while the rest of the lines went up.

The North East Line dropped to 98.61 per cent, from 99.08 per cent in August.

Train punctuality complements MKBF by tracking the consistency of rail operations and the predictability of journeys and wait times.

TEL's train punctuality and service delivery were 99.84 per cent and 99.99 per cent respectively in September.

Lower punctuality means that train frequencies are less regular, which can cause longer wait times and crowdedness, LTA said.

There were two MRT service disruptions lasting more than 30 minutes in the 12 months ending September, with LTA estimating that fewer than 5,000 passengers were affected in each incident.

This represented less than 1 per cent of the respective line's daily passengers, LTA said.

The incidents were on the East-West Line on Nov 11, 2025, and the Downtown Line on Sep 29, 2026.

"The severity of a service disruption can be measured not only by its length, but also by the number and proportion of passengers impacted," LTA said.

Mr Siow said faults and disruptions would still occasionally occur given the size and complexity of the rail network, adding that safety would remain the priority when operators respond to faults.

“We will work very hard to try to minimise those occurrences, as we have done,” he said.