SINGAPORE — As commuters yesterday struggled with two separate delays on the rail network, statistics from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) showed an upward trend in the number of incidents causing disruptions of more than 10 minutes on the North East Line (NEL).

The number of incidents for every 100,000km covered by a train from January to May increased to 0.23 on the NEL, compared to 0.16 in the whole of last year.

Similarly, the number of incidents per 100,000km causing disruptions of more than five minutes has also increased to 1.16 in the first five months of this year, compared to 0.89 for the whole of last year.

Train services were delayed for 25 minutes yesterday morning, when a train heading towards HarbourFront Station developed a fault at Dhoby Ghaut Station, and had to be driven manually at a reduced speed. SBS Transit (SBST) spokeswoman Tammy Tan said in a statement that the cause of the train fault is currently being investigated.

The NEL, which opened in 2003, has been bogged down by delays this year. Last month, as Singapore experienced its most severe haze episode, trains were delayed by a two-hour breakdown which saw commuters evacuated through tunnels and left waiting in the outdoors for bus bridging services.

Asked what is being done to minimise such disruptions, Ms Tan, who is SBST’s Senior Vice-President for Corporate Communications said: “We have stepped up preventive maintenance efforts as the line grows older and will continue to do so to minimise inconvenience to our commuters.”

The LTA will carry out investigations into the delay, while also “closely monitoring the performance of the NEL”, a spokesperson said in response to TODAY’s queries.

The LTA spokesperson added: “To enhance the service reliability of the NEL, LTA-SBS Transit have formed a joint team since October last year to focus its attention on reviewing the underlying causes of and contributory factors of recent incidences.

“The team is also looking into preventive measures to further reduce service delays and train withdrawals.”

Meanwhile, trains were also slow-moving and stopped frequently on the East-West Line yesterday morning, as a result of a track circuit failure.

An SMRT spokesperson said “signallers were deployed on the ground immediately to assess the situation”. While recovery action between Clementi and Dover MRT stations were ongoing, trains were travelling at slower speeds for passenger safety, she said. Normal train speed resumed by 1.02pm.

During the SMRT’s briefing for its first-quarter financial results yesterday, its Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Catherine Lee said repairs and maintenance costs increased by 4.4 per cent to S$26.5 million “in line with more scheduled repairs and maintenance for train operations” and “higher operational loading and a larger taxi fleet”.

When asked if a specific time frame has been set for partial closures on the North-South and East-West MRT lines on Sundays for maintenance work, Executive Vice-President for SMRT Trains Lee Ling Wee said it is still in discussion with the LTA on the possibility “but no definitive date has been given yet”.

Ms Catherine Lee added: “We will make the due announcement when we have such clarity.”