SINGAPORE: MRT reliability over the last 12 months fell to its lowest level since 2020, latest figures from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) showed.
According to a rail service reliability report published by LTA on Friday (Sep 5), the MRT network on average clocked about 1.6 million train-km from July 2024 to June 2025 without service delays lasting more than five minutes.
This is the shortest distance trains have travelled without service delays since 2020, when trains clocked about 1.45 million train-km between delays.
LTA publishes the 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.
The authority has set an MKBF target of 1 million train-km for the MRT network.
From July 2024 to June this year, rail reliability fell for three of the five MRT lines – the Downtown Line, North-South Line and East-West Line.
The Downtown Line saw the biggest drop in mean distance travelled between delays during that period – from 8.13 million train-km in 2024 to 4.12 million train-km in the 12 months to June.
The North-South Line’s reliability also fell to 1.24 million train-km from about 2.49 million train-km. This is also the lowest level of rail reliability the line has seen since 2020, when it recorded 1.08 million train-km.
The East-West Line also saw a decline to 1.44 million train-km from 1.69 million train-km last year. This is also the shortest mean distance travelled for the line since 2020, when it recorded 1.26 million train-km.
The North-East Line and Circle Line saw improvements in the last 12 months to June, compared with 2024.
The North-East Line recorded 4.23 million train-km compared with 4.10 million train-km, while the Circle Line also improved to 1.07 million train-km from 919,000 train-km.
The Thomson-East Coast Line was not included in the report as the line is not fully open. The fifth stage of the line – comprising Bedok South and Sungei Bedok stations – is slated to open in the second half of 2026.
The MKBF does not reflect the severity of delays, only the distance travelled between delays.
According to the report, there were two service delays lasting more than 30 minutes - one each on the Circle Line and Downtown Line – in the first half of this year. There were seven such delays for the whole of 2024.
The most notable delay between July 2024 and June this year was a six-day disruption along the East-West Line in September last year. Public transport operator SMRT was fined S$3 million (US$2.33 million) as a result.
On Mar 5, a train fault on the Circle Line caused delays for commuters between Promenade and Serangoon MRT stations in both directions.
There was also a string of disruptions the month before.
On Feb 7, an engineering vehicle broke down in the morning at a railway crossing in Bishan depot, preventing trains on the North-South Line from being launched. The disruption lasted until the evening.
Three days later, a signalling fault caused a delay on the North-East Line, disrupting services for more than an hour.
On Feb 11, a signalling fault between Paya Lebar and Marymount stations on the Circle Line caused a power trip that caused delays on the morning commute.
LTA compared Singapore's MRT reliability with that of other cities.
Compared to other global metros, Singapore’s MRT system ran for 7.7 million car-km before encountering a delay of more than five minutes.
This is compared with: Hong Kong's MTR, which recorded 4.29 million car-km from April to June 2025; New York City subway, which recorded 187,000 car-km from July 2024 to June this year; and Taipei metro, which came in at 19.12 million car-km in 2023.
While the overall reliability of Singapore's MRT network has fallen, its LRT lines saw an improvement in reliability.
The LRT lines recorded on average 534,000 car-km without service delays lasting more than five minutes from July 2024 to June this year. This is an improvement from 382,000 car-km in 2024.
The Bukit Panjang LRT saw a slight improvement to 247,000 car-km from 232,000 car-km in 2024. The Sengkang-Punggol LRT recorded 1.25 million car-km, up from 549,000 car-km in 2024.
There were no service delays lasting more than 30 minutes on both LRT lines in the first half of this year.
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According to a rail service reliability report published by LTA on Friday (Sep 5), the MRT network on average clocked about 1.6 million train-km from July 2024 to June 2025 without service delays lasting more than five minutes.
This is the shortest distance trains have travelled without service delays since 2020, when trains clocked about 1.45 million train-km between delays.
LTA publishes the 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.
The authority has set an MKBF target of 1 million train-km for the MRT network.
From July 2024 to June this year, rail reliability fell for three of the five MRT lines – the Downtown Line, North-South Line and East-West Line.
The Downtown Line saw the biggest drop in mean distance travelled between delays during that period – from 8.13 million train-km in 2024 to 4.12 million train-km in the 12 months to June.
The North-South Line’s reliability also fell to 1.24 million train-km from about 2.49 million train-km. This is also the lowest level of rail reliability the line has seen since 2020, when it recorded 1.08 million train-km.
The East-West Line also saw a decline to 1.44 million train-km from 1.69 million train-km last year. This is also the shortest mean distance travelled for the line since 2020, when it recorded 1.26 million train-km.
The North-East Line and Circle Line saw improvements in the last 12 months to June, compared with 2024.
The North-East Line recorded 4.23 million train-km compared with 4.10 million train-km, while the Circle Line also improved to 1.07 million train-km from 919,000 train-km.
The Thomson-East Coast Line was not included in the report as the line is not fully open. The fifth stage of the line – comprising Bedok South and Sungei Bedok stations – is slated to open in the second half of 2026.
The MKBF does not reflect the severity of delays, only the distance travelled between delays.
According to the report, there were two service delays lasting more than 30 minutes - one each on the Circle Line and Downtown Line – in the first half of this year. There were seven such delays for the whole of 2024.
The most notable delay between July 2024 and June this year was a six-day disruption along the East-West Line in September last year. Public transport operator SMRT was fined S$3 million (US$2.33 million) as a result.
On Mar 5, a train fault on the Circle Line caused delays for commuters between Promenade and Serangoon MRT stations in both directions.
There was also a string of disruptions the month before.
On Feb 7, an engineering vehicle broke down in the morning at a railway crossing in Bishan depot, preventing trains on the North-South Line from being launched. The disruption lasted until the evening.
Three days later, a signalling fault caused a delay on the North-East Line, disrupting services for more than an hour.
On Feb 11, a signalling fault between Paya Lebar and Marymount stations on the Circle Line caused a power trip that caused delays on the morning commute.
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LTA compared Singapore's MRT reliability with that of other cities.
Compared to other global metros, Singapore’s MRT system ran for 7.7 million car-km before encountering a delay of more than five minutes.
This is compared with: Hong Kong's MTR, which recorded 4.29 million car-km from April to June 2025; New York City subway, which recorded 187,000 car-km from July 2024 to June this year; and Taipei metro, which came in at 19.12 million car-km in 2023.
While the overall reliability of Singapore's MRT network has fallen, its LRT lines saw an improvement in reliability.
The LRT lines recorded on average 534,000 car-km without service delays lasting more than five minutes from July 2024 to June this year. This is an improvement from 382,000 car-km in 2024.
The Bukit Panjang LRT saw a slight improvement to 247,000 car-km from 232,000 car-km in 2024. The Sengkang-Punggol LRT recorded 1.25 million car-km, up from 549,000 car-km in 2024.
There were no service delays lasting more than 30 minutes on both LRT lines in the first half of this year.
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