Reduction of Breakdown of MRT Train Services

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Transport whether any other action can be taken to reduce the breakdown of MRT train services.

Improving rail reliability is a multi-year effort. It comprises four major elements.

First, timely replacement and upgrading of ageing assets. This applies especially to our oldest North-South and East-West Lines. We have completed the replacement of all the wooden sleepers with new concrete sleepers. We will soon complete the replacement of the third rail system, which supplies power to the trains. We will soon begin the process to replace the ageing power system and the first-generation train fleet.

Meanwhile, we are in the last phase of trials for the new signalling system on the North-South Line. The signalling system upgrade for the East-West Line will be completed next year. Re-signalling is not a simple exercise and similar projects elsewhere had experienced delays and disruptions during implementation. We have to be patient as the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) and the equipment supplier painstakingly iron out all the hitches in the new system.

Second, build up the expertise of our rail engineers. We have set up the Singapore Rail Academy to augment industry efforts in developing rail expertise and manpower. Through various international advisory panels, we are actively tapping on international experiences and adopting best practices.

Third, reform our maintenance regime. We have introduced process-based Maintenance Performance Standards to address maintenance issues upstream, before delays occur. We have also begun to incorporate predictive maintenance concepts to raise efficiency and effectiveness.

Fourth, step up investment in maintenance and engineering. LTA and the operators have increased their maintenance and engineering manpower significantly. They have also set up Joint Teams to regularly review the reliability performance of individual rail lines, identify the causes, develop targeted solutions and monitor the results.

All these efforts take years to complete and to produce results. We are not yet where we want to be. However, we have seen good progress. The industry key performance indicator (KPI) for measuring rail reliability is Mean Kilometre Between Failure (MKBF), measuring delays exceeding five minutes. It is a demanding KPI and adopted globally.

Last year, I set stretched targets for our operators to work towards an MKBF of 200,000 train-kilometres (km) for 2016, 300,000 km for 2017, 400,000 km for 2018 and 800,000 km by 2020. From January to May 2017, our Mass Rapid Transit trains travelled 387,000 train-km between delays of more than five minutes. This is more than double the performance in 2016 of 174,000 train-km. It has also exceeded my stretched targets. It is a pleasant surprise and is greatly inspiring to our teams of engineers and technicians working in the trenches.

In fact, three out of the five lines have exceeded next year’s target of 400,000 train-km. Among the three, two have exceeded the 2020 target of 800,000 train-km in the first five months of this year. We are determined to be among the best in rail reliability and we will get there. Please continue to give us your encouragement and support.