SINGAPORE: The reliability of the MRT network declined in August, according to findings released on Friday (Oct 10) by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
The transport authority released its first monthly update on rail reliability on Friday. Updates had previously been provided quarterly.
"This revised monthly cadence is part of our ongoing efforts to improve transparency and accountability, and to provide the public with a clearer picture of how our rail network has been performing over time," said LTA in a press release.
LTA publishes its reliability figures using a 12-month moving average of mean kilometres between failures (MKBF) – a metric that measures train reliability.
This tracks the average distance that a train travels before it encounters a delay of more than five minutes.
According to the report, the MKBF for the MRT network decreased to 1,740,000 train-km as of the end of August, from 1,818,000 train-km at the end of July.
The authority has set an MKBF target of 1 million train-km for the MRT network.
The Downtown Line's (DTL) MKBF fell from 4,131,000 train-km at the end of July to 2,760,000 train-km at the end of August, while the North East Line's (NEL) MKBF fell from 4,262,000 train-km to 2,142,000 train-km.
“These were due to one delay on each line in Aug 2025, reflecting the sensitivity of MKBF to small variations in the number of delays above 1 million train-km,” said LTA.
The East-West Line also saw its MKBF fall from 2,021,000 train-km to 1,684,000 train-km.
Both the North-South Line (NSL) and Circle Line (CCL) saw increases in their MKBF since end-July.
The NSL’s MKBF rose from 1,413,000 train-km to 1,648,000 train-km, and the CCL’s increased from 1,067,000 train-km to 1,245,000 train-km.
“LTA will continue to provide monthly updates on the MKBF for the overall MRT network as well as for individual rail lines,” said the transport authority.
The transport authority added that it would start publishing the MKBF performance and number of delays lasting more than 30 minutes for the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) from this edition of the report.
“While MKBF provides a reasonable indicator for reliability of mature rail lines, its limitations can make it less reflective of the reliability of a newer line,” said LTA.
"A newer rail line in its early stages tends to operate significantly lower mileage, as the overall line is shorter, and given relatively lower ridership, trains are not being operated at more typical frequencies.
"In addition, the operation of new lines, especially lines that are still undergoing construction and extension, will take time to stabilise."
According to LTA, the TEL is currently in its initial engineering “bathtub” stage - a period when teething issues are expected as the system stabilises and matures.
“Since the start of the phased opening of the TEL, LTA and the operator have been working with the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) to resolve teething issues.”
These include issues with the new signalling system of the TEL, which LTA and the operator have been working with the OEM to address, it said.
“Issues that arise in the initial stages of operations and after system updates as part of ongoing works may result in delays. Such issues differ from the faults encountered in the operation of more mature rail lines.”
Despite this, the transport authority said it would commence reporting the TEL’s MKBF since the line had so far accumulated one year of "more representative data".
"The TEL project is not fully complete, as works on TEL Stage 5 are still underway by LTA, the operator and OEMs. More time is needed before the TEL’s performance stabilises," LTA said.
"We expect the performance of the TEL to improve after it fully opens in 2026 and its operations have stabilised, such that its fault trends can be fairly compared with our other mature lines."
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The transport authority released its first monthly update on rail reliability on Friday. Updates had previously been provided quarterly.
"This revised monthly cadence is part of our ongoing efforts to improve transparency and accountability, and to provide the public with a clearer picture of how our rail network has been performing over time," said LTA in a press release.
LTA publishes its reliability figures using a 12-month moving average of mean kilometres between failures (MKBF) – a metric that measures train reliability.
This tracks the average distance that a train travels before it encounters a delay of more than five minutes.
According to the report, the MKBF for the MRT network decreased to 1,740,000 train-km as of the end of August, from 1,818,000 train-km at the end of July.
The authority has set an MKBF target of 1 million train-km for the MRT network.
The Downtown Line's (DTL) MKBF fell from 4,131,000 train-km at the end of July to 2,760,000 train-km at the end of August, while the North East Line's (NEL) MKBF fell from 4,262,000 train-km to 2,142,000 train-km.
“These were due to one delay on each line in Aug 2025, reflecting the sensitivity of MKBF to small variations in the number of delays above 1 million train-km,” said LTA.
The East-West Line also saw its MKBF fall from 2,021,000 train-km to 1,684,000 train-km.
Both the North-South Line (NSL) and Circle Line (CCL) saw increases in their MKBF since end-July.
The NSL’s MKBF rose from 1,413,000 train-km to 1,648,000 train-km, and the CCL’s increased from 1,067,000 train-km to 1,245,000 train-km.
“LTA will continue to provide monthly updates on the MKBF for the overall MRT network as well as for individual rail lines,” said the transport authority.
THOMSON-EAST COAST LINE
The transport authority added that it would start publishing the MKBF performance and number of delays lasting more than 30 minutes for the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) from this edition of the report.
“While MKBF provides a reasonable indicator for reliability of mature rail lines, its limitations can make it less reflective of the reliability of a newer line,” said LTA.
"A newer rail line in its early stages tends to operate significantly lower mileage, as the overall line is shorter, and given relatively lower ridership, trains are not being operated at more typical frequencies.
"In addition, the operation of new lines, especially lines that are still undergoing construction and extension, will take time to stabilise."
According to LTA, the TEL is currently in its initial engineering “bathtub” stage - a period when teething issues are expected as the system stabilises and matures.
“Since the start of the phased opening of the TEL, LTA and the operator have been working with the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) to resolve teething issues.”
These include issues with the new signalling system of the TEL, which LTA and the operator have been working with the OEM to address, it said.
“Issues that arise in the initial stages of operations and after system updates as part of ongoing works may result in delays. Such issues differ from the faults encountered in the operation of more mature rail lines.”
Despite this, the transport authority said it would commence reporting the TEL’s MKBF since the line had so far accumulated one year of "more representative data".
"The TEL project is not fully complete, as works on TEL Stage 5 are still underway by LTA, the operator and OEMs. More time is needed before the TEL’s performance stabilises," LTA said.
"We expect the performance of the TEL to improve after it fully opens in 2026 and its operations have stabilised, such that its fault trends can be fairly compared with our other mature lines."
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