He came to S’pore to learn about the MRT, before going home to help launch Taipei Metro

When Mr Jan Wen-tau first boarded an MRT train in Singapore in July 1990, he was awe-struck.

The 27-year-old Taiwanese engineer had never left Taiwan before. Back home, the only trains were conventional railways – older systems with jerkier rides.

Little did he know it then, but his was the first step in a journey of joint discovery and shared learning between SMRT and the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC, or Taipei Metro) that would last 36 years and counting.

“Riding the MRT felt completely different: much more modern, very bright and clean,” Mr Jan, now 63 and the vice-president of TRTC, recalls in Mandarin.

The MRT trains impressed him. But it was what happened in the classrooms, depots and control rooms operated by SMRT that left the deepest mark.

Mr Jan was in Singapore from July to September 1990 for a training programme with seven Taipei colleagues. Their task: To learn how Singapore’s MRT system worked and bring that knowledge back to kickstart Taipei’s metro operations.

“The SMRT trainers held nothing back,” he says. “We brought back complete sets of materials, standard operating procedures and processes – which became our ‘operational bible’.”

Today, the Taiwanese metro network is one of the world’s most efficient and reliable train systems in the world.

Rail reliability is typically measured through mean kilometres between failures (MKBF), which reflects how far a train travels before it encounters a delay of more than five minutes.

Based on the latest publicly available data collated by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority, TRTC’s network clocked 23 million car-km in 2024. Singapore’s MRT network recorded 8.4 million car-km between March 2025 and February 2026.

Mr Jan was speaking to The Straits Times on the sidelines of the Metro Alliance meeting at Bishan Depot – the same depot where he had trained 36 years ago. The sixth biannual meeting, from March 4 to 6, was hosted by SMRT for the first time.

The alliance brings together the Singapore MRT operator and five Taiwanese metro systems, including TRTC, in an ongoing exchange of knowledge and expertise.

From pioneers to peers

The partnership rests on a willingness to share – not just successes, but setbacks too.

When severe flooding at Bishan MRT station occurred in October 2017, suspending services between Ang Mo Kio and Newton MRT stations for more than 14 hours, SMRT launched a review of what had gone wrong.

Enter a team of eight senior engineers from Taipei shortly after to learn and to help – a gesture of support that SMRT chairman Seah Moon Ming acknowledged in his speech at the alliance meeting.

“Taipei Metro responded immediately and offered invaluable support,” he said, “for which we remain deeply grateful.”

The feeling is mutual. “The reason Taipei Metro has achieved what it has in 30 years… the roots of that go back to when we came to Singapore to learn, brought everything back, and kept improving from there,” says Mr Jan.

Mr Jan sees that same commitment to continuous improvement in SMRT. “That’s a core principle for any metro (operator),” adds Mr Jan, “and it’s very much aligned with what all of us in the alliance are trying to do.”

For Mr Stanley Ng, SMRT director of operations at Circle Line (CCL), this longstanding cooperation was met with candour he had not expected.

In his first visit with his Taiwanese counterparts in September 2023, recalls Mr Ng, 48, a fatal incident had occurred in Taichung four months before the trip. A train had collided with a crane boom that fell onto the elevated tracks, killing one commuter and injuring 15.

Would it be “awkward” to talk about the issue, Mr Ng wondered then. But to his surprise, “the Taiwanese were very open in sharing about what had happened” – what went wrong and what they learnt, he recalls.

It underscores the value of the partnership, with both sides bringing their experiences to the table. There is a lot to learn, even though their operating conditions might differ, says Mr Ng, who was the co-chair of SMRT’s organising committee for the alliance meeting.

Ties that bind

In 2024, SMRT became the first, and only, international operator to join the Metro Alliance. The alliance includes the operators of Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung’s metro systems.

Inviting SMRT to be part of the alliance was a “natural” step, says Mr Huang Ching-shinn, president of Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC).

“SMRT and TRTC have been long-term partners,” says Mr Huang. He points to a relationship that dates back 36 years, when an initial group of eight Taiwanese engineers came to Singapore to learn how to run a metro system in 1990.

It has since grown into a more structured partnership.

In 2023, both parties inked a sister metro pact to exchange knowledge and best practices in operations, maintenance and engineering.

In March 2026, SMRT hosted the alliance’s sixth biannual conference for the first time. Senior leaders from all five Taiwanese operators gathered in Singapore to explore joint procurement efforts, strengthen asset lifecycle management, and explore new approaches to growing non-fare revenue

The alliance enables operators to openly share their knowledge, notes Mr Huang, and tackle shared challenges and rising expectations.

Cost efficiency and resilience

SMRT and the five Taiwan metro operators are collaborating on joint negotiations with suppliers to bring down the cost price of train parts, Mr Huang says.

One challenge in managing ageing infrastructure, he says, is obsolescence – when train parts are no longer manufactured or harder to find.

By working together, operators within the alliance can support one another more easily. For example, by sharing spare parts or sourcing for alternative parts when needed.

Better commuter experiences

The alliance also provides a platform to address common challenges, such as rising commuter expectations and the evolving needs of an ageing population, Mr Huang adds.

Through regular exchanges, operators share insights that can help improve service planning and enable faster recovery from disruptions.

Beyond operations, the metro operators are exploring ways to enhance station environments and grow non-fare revenue. For example, in 2025, TRTC and SMRT’s retail and advertising arm Stellar Lifestyle brought in well-known Taiwanese egg-roll brand BlueBird Travel to set up shop at Raffles Place station.

Fresh perspectives

At the working level, this friendship is cultivated through staff attachments and technical exchanges.

When Mr Ng Jun Jie, senior manager at the CCL’s Operations Control Centre (OCC), feels stumped by an issue at work, he checks in with his counterpart in TRTC via the Line messaging app.

The 35-year-old went on a two-week attachment at TRTC in 2024, to better understand their day-to-day OCC operations.

Mr Ng Jun Jie built close ties with his counterparts, including a “buddy” he could reach out to directly to bounce off ideas.

Why check in with his Taiwanese counterparts? Mr Ng Jun Jie explains that they can offer a fresh perspective – different ways of thinking about the same problems.

The alliance holds quarterly check-ins and twice-yearly physical meetings, which help to sustain the relationship, explains Mr Stanley Ng. He likens it to friendship: You don’t just call your friend when you need them – you stay in touch.

What began as a one-way knowledge transfer in 1990 has grown into something larger: “A structured platform to learn from each other’s experiences and find better ways to improve,” reflects Mr Jan.

He still remembers his main trainer, Ms Mahani Bagarib. Now 68, Ms Bagarib was the coordinator of the SMRT training programme for Taiwanese engineers in 1990. She left the company in 2011 after 26 years.

In 2025, the two met again in Singapore, when Mr Jan returned for a work visit.

Looking back, those early sessions were more than just training, Ms Bagarib says. “It felt like the beginning of a journey, (and) it is very satisfying to know that many from that first batch went on to contribute significantly to the organisation.”

This article was produced in partnership with SMRT.