Making sense of SMRT Trains' losses

SMRT Trains, which has traditionally been profitable, posted an after-tax loss of $86 million for its 2018 financial year. However, in all likelihood, SMRT Corp on the whole is still very much in the black.
SMRT Trains, which has traditionally been profitable, posted an after-tax loss of $86 million for its 2018 financial year. However, in all likelihood, SMRT Corp on the whole is still very much in the black. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
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News about SMRT's rail operations slipping into the red has become a talking point. This just goes to show how uncommon such an occurrence is.

The fact is Singapore's public transport industry has remained largely profitable for the past decades. This speaks volumes of the sustainability of our financial and operating model for buses and trains. Not many other countries can match that record. In fact, for many Western cities, a public transport operation making money is news.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 06, 2018, with the headline Making sense of SMRT Trains' losses. Subscribe