Mixed picture on MRT reliability

SINGAPORE — The number of major MRT delays has continued to creep up steadily, with 16 major disruptions lasting more than 30 minutes last year — double the number in 2012.

And while trains travelled further before being hit by short delays, last year’s performance fell short of the Government’s interim target, statistics released by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) on Thursday (Jan 12) showed.

The number of major disruptions lasting more than 30 minutes inched up from 15 cases in 2015 to 16 cases last year, the third consecutive year of increase. The East-West line was the worst performer with five incidents. 

Nonetheless, trains on averaged travelled 174,000 train-km before encountering delays of more than five minutes last year, a 30 per cent improvement, but short of the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) interim target of 200,000 train-km for last year. 

Among the five MRT lines, the Downtown (DTL), Circle (CCL) and North-South Lines registered improvements, while reliability on the North-East Line (NEL) and East-West Line (EWL) dipped. 

In particular, the DTL improved the most, clocking 260,000 train-km last year compared to 45,000km in 2015. The CCL also put in a good showing, surpassing the interim target by clocking 228,000 train-km.

On the other hand, the NEL clocked 174,000 train-km, down from 213,000 train-km in 2015, while the EWL clocked 145,000 train-km, down from 162,000 train-km. 

Commenting on the slight dip in the NEL’s performance last year, SBS Transit, which operates the line, said several of the delays last year happened during the “bedding-in period” of the new trains delivered during the year. 

As for the sharp improvement in the DTL’s performance, analysts TODAY spoke to pointed to the relative newness of the line. UniSIM urban transport expert Park Byung Joon added that the additional resources put in to improve reliability during the period of time might have helped bolster reliability. 

Commenting on the figures at the opening of a forum on infrastructure maintenance on Thursday, Permanent Secretary for Transport Pang Kin Keong attributed the reliability improvements to “sharply intensified maintenance regimes put in place by the operators”, along with higher investment to upgrade and renew rail assets. 

To further improve rail reliability, the Government will plough in some S$4 billion to renew, upgrade and expand existing rail assets, he said. The amount is on top of the S$20 billion it has committed to spending on new rail lines in the same period, he added.

Despite missing the interim target, Mr Pang said he was confident that the 2018 target of 400,000 train-km between failures can be reached. 

The LTA will soon call for a tender to replace 66 first-generation trains, which are 29 years old and currently ply the NSL and the EWL. The power supply systems, in use since the MRT first started in 1987, on both lines will also undergo replacement and enhancement work. 

“(The) upgrade should help bring down the number of disruptions caused by power malfunction,” said Mr Pang. First-generation assets on the Bukit Panjang LRT will also be replaced.

He also stressed the need to strengthen the local rail engineering and maintenance core. Last year’s CCL signaling incidents in August, September and November pointed to a need to “develop much deeper knowledge and expertise in rail technology”, he said.

Mr Pang also said another area the authorities are looking to “better harness technology is through smart asset maintenance and management”, adding that the LTA is working with vendors to develop an enterprise asset management system, for which the tender preparation is being finalised.