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Train reliability has ‘quite some way to go’ despite general improvement

SINGAPORE – The recent spate of train disruptions, coming against a trend of general improvement in train reliability, is a “stark reminder” that there is “quite some way to go”, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.

Train disruption at Boon Lay MRT station on March 3, 2015. TODAY file photo

Train disruption at Boon Lay MRT station on March 3, 2015. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE – The recent spate of train disruptions, coming against a trend of general improvement in train reliability, is a “stark reminder” that there is “quite some way to go”, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.

The recent disruptions — the latest being on the Bukit Panjang LRT line due to an electric fire — came despite intensive efforts by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operators over the last few years to reduce train withdrawals on the MRT and LRT lines, said Mr Lui, speaking at the Committee of Supply debate today (March 11).

At the North-South and East-West Lines, for example, the number of train withdrawals was reduced from 1.1 per 100,000 train-km, compared to 2.2 in 2013. For the LRT network, the withdrawal rate for Bukit Panjang LRT came down to 4.5 per 100,000 car-km last year, compared to 6.1 in 2012.

Amidst these improvements, the recent disruptions is “something that really pains me”, said Mr Lui.

“While I can accept the occasional breakdown or even a more severe disruption if it occurs very rarely, I am most upset with the current situation in the last few weeks.

“The incidents have inconvenienced too many commuters, disrupted their routines and schedules, and once again, undermined confidence in the transport network and the progress we had made,” said Mr Lui.

The disruptions also came at a time when public perception of public transport, tracked via the Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey, seemed to have improved, he said.

Latest survey results indicated that Singaporeans’ overall satisfaction with public transport went up to 91.3 per cent last year, compared to 88.5 per cent in 2013. Satisfaction with rail had improved by about four percentage points, reversing a four-year decline, Mr Lui noted.

Operators must persevere and redouble their efforts to do better, he said, and this includes intensifying their maintenance regime, undertaking additional preventive and detection measures, as well as improving their processes to enable prompt and effective response to maintenance issues.

The LTA will augment SMRT with additional engineering expertise where required, and will also step up audits of SMRT’s maintenance procedures and resources, he said.

He told the House: “I would like to assure Members that we will spare no effort to find out the causes of this recent spate of breakdowns, and also to take the necessary measures stem these problems.”

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