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Number of major MRT delays hits four-year high

SINGAPORE — The number of major train service delays this year for the entire MRT network has hit a new high, with the dozen incidents in the first nine months of the year already outstripping the previous high of 11 that were recorded in 2011 — the year when two severe breakdowns in three days triggered public outrage and which prompted the setting up of a Committee of Inquiry.

SINGAPORE — The number of major train service delays this year for the entire MRT network has hit a new high, with the dozen incidents in the first nine months of the year already outstripping the previous high of 11 that were recorded in 2011 — the year when two severe breakdowns in three days triggered public outrage and which prompted the setting up of a Committee of Inquiry.

Notably, there were eight major disruptions — lasting more than 30 minutes — between January and March, based on the latest service update report posted on Tuesday on the Land Transport Authority (LTA) website.

In January alone, three severe disruptions were reported in the media within a week, affecting the North-South and East West Lines (NSEWL).

The LTA report also showed that between January and September, there were 36 delays lasting more than 10 minutes — matching the number for the whole of last year — and 266 delays lasting more than five minutes.

The Downtown Line — which started operations in December last year — experienced 19 delays lasting more than five minutes in the first three months of the year. The LTA noted that it typically takes about six to nine months for new lines to stabilise.

Nevertheless, the overall train withdrawal rate has continued to fall: The rate for the entire train network was 0.8 per 100,000km travelled in the third quarter of this year, compared with 1 per 100,000km travelled in the first half of the year. The train withdrawal rate was 2.6 in 2011 and 1.7 last year.

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said it was important to focus on the falling rate of delays lasting more than five minutes. “If you look at peak hours ... a train withdrawal or a delay greater than five minutes can be just as adverse as a 30-minute delay late at night or in the middle of the afternoon,” he said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia.

He added: “If we are able to address the withdrawals and delays that are greater than five minutes, then correspondingly, I think it should lead to an improvement in (delays lasting more than 30 minutes).”

Transport analysts noted that major disruptions are due to structural issues that will take time to rectify. They added that while the statistics of breakdowns in Singapore’s train network compare favourably with those of other countries, the impact of disruptions on commuters here is greater given that they have fewer alternatives. “As additional lines (in Singapore) get completed, there will be more redundancy and alternate routes for commuters,” said Assistant Professor Walter Theseira, a transport economist from Nanyang Technological University.

Dr Alexander Erath, a transport researcher from the Future Cities Laboratory at the Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability, pointed out that major disruptions could be caused by wear and tear, whereas smaller delays are due to operational issues that can be rectified through better management.

SMRT Trains managing director Lee Ling Wee said that of the 11 areas where SMRT’s operational performance is assessed, the operator has reported improvement in seven categories and maintained its performance in two others. “SMRT will be committing more effort to making improvements in two areas, namely service delays on the NSEWL exceeding 30 minutes, and service delays on the Circle Line exceeding 10 minutes,” he said. “Even in these two categories, SMRT has significantly reduced the number of service delays in the past six months, compared with the first quarter of 2014.”

The other train operator, SBS Transit (SBST), which operates the North East Line (NEL), did not respond by press time.

An LTA spokesman reiterated the authority has been working very closely with the two operators to enhance service reliability of all rail lines.

“For the NSEWL, the aim has been to rectify problems of an ageing system and to carry out preventive maintenance,” she said. These include upgrading the older trains and the signalling system, as well as the replacement of the sleepers and third rail.

For the NEL, measures include fleet-wide replacement of problematic train propulsion and air-conditioning components. The LTA has also been working with SBST to enhance the maintenance regime of the line’s overhead power supply, among other initiatives.

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