MRT reliability down in 2025, driven by poorer performance of four MRT lines
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In 2025, trains on the MRT network travelled 1.606 million train-km between delays, compared with 1.982 million train-km in 2024.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Follow topic:
- Singapore's MRT rail reliability decreased in 2025 compared to 2024, with four of five lines performing worse, according to LTA's latest report.
- Circle Line (CCL) significantly improved, while Downtown Line (DTL) remained top performer despite a drop. Overall train punctuality improved slightly.
- LRT network reliability improved. LTA remains committed to improving rail reliability; Ministry of Transport to review Rail Reliability Taskforce recommendations.
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SINGAPORE – Singapore’s rail network was less reliable in 2025 than it was the year before, as a result of poorer performance by four MRT lines.
Of the five MRT lines, only the Circle Line (CCL) bucked the trend to perform significantly better than in 2024. The Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) – Singapore’s sixth line – was not included in these measures as it is new.
In 2025, trains on the MRT network travelled 1.606 million train-km between delays, compared with 1.982 million train-km in 2024. This remains above Singapore’s rail reliability target – measured by mean kilometres between failure (MKBF) -– of one million train-km for the entire MRT network.
The MKBF, which reflects how far a train travels before encountering a delay of more than five minutes, is a widely used engineering measure of rail reliability. It does not reflect the severity of any disruption.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) gave these numbers in its latest monthly rail reliability report on Jan 16. For the first time, the report also included provisional data for December, rather than only up to November as expected.
These reports will now include such data up to the preceding month to provide up-to-date information on rail reliability, LTA said.
This is the latest change to the way information on rail reliability is presented. Since October 2025, LTA has increased the frequency reliability indicators
LTA’s figures are based on a 12-month moving average of the MKBF.
By this measure, the Downtown Line (DTL) clocked 2.787 million train-km in 2025, down from 8.131 million train-km in 2024. Even so, the SBS Transit-operated line was the most reliable.
The second highest-ranked line was the SMRT-operated CCL, which clocked 2.464 million train-km in 2025, up from 919,000 train-km in 2024.
It overtook SBS Transit’s North East Line (NEL), which averaged 2.198 million train-km, down from the previous year’s 4.101 million train-km.
Behind the NEL is the East-West Line (EWL), operated by SMRT, with 1.265 million train-km in 2025, down from 1.687 million train-km in 2024.
Coming in last was SMRT’s North-South Line (NSL), which posted a drop from 2.485 million train-km in 2024 to 1.099 million train-km in 2025.
There were seven service delays on the five MRT lines in 2025 that lasted longer than 30 minutes. This was the same number as in 2024.
In 2025, the EWL, CCL and DTL had two such major delays each, while the NEL had one. There were no major disruptions reported on the NSL in 2025.
How the lines fared in punctuality, running on schedule
LTA also included how the lines fared in terms of punctuality and the proportion of train services that operated according to schedule.
In 2025, 99.84 per cent of MRT trains completed scheduled trips within two minutes of their scheduled times, up from 99.78 per cent in 2024.
The EWL is the only one to have improved – by 0.4 percentage point – while the NSL, NEL, CCL and DTL did not fare as well as in 2024. The dips were between 0.02 and 0.13 percentage points.
Train punctuality on the overall MRT network improved slightly in 2025 to 99.38 per cent from 99.35 per cent. The EWL, CCL and DTL all posted slightly better results than in 2024, while the NSL and NEL dipped slightly.
Thomson-East Coast Line
The performance of the new TEL, operated by SMRT, was not included in the overall rail reliability results. This is because lines at this stage tend to see significantly lower mileage, due to factors like relatively lower ridership and trains not running at typical frequencies.
The fifth and final stage of the line, comprising Bedok South and Sungei Bedok stations, will begin service in the second half of 2026. LTA said that after the line is fully open and operations have stabilised, TEL’s performance can then be fairly compared with that of the other mature MRT lines.
Overall, TEL trains travelled 325,000 train-km in 2025, compared with 459,000 train-km in 2024.
The TEL improved slightly when it came to completing scheduled trips within two minutes of their scheduled times – by 0.01 percentage point, to 99.62 per cent. Train punctuality was down by 0.1 percentage point in 2025, from 99.7 per cent.
In 2025, there were two delays on the line that lasted over 30 minutes, one in May and the other in September.
LRT improvement
Singapore’s LRT network was more reliable in 2025 with trains travelling 429,000 car-km between delays, compared with 382,000 car-km in 2024.
The Sengkang-Punggol LRT, operated by SBS Transit, posted 1.025 million car-km in 2025, up from 549,000 car-km. The SMRT-run Bukit Panjang LRT managed 199,000 car-km in 2025, compared with 232,000 car-km in 2024.
In a press statement, LTA said it remains committed to working with rail operators to keep improving rail reliability.
The authority also said that the Ministry of Transport will be reviewing the recommendations from the rail reliability task force, and will give a full response to the report by the first quarter of 2026.
Comprising LTA and the rail operators, the task force was formed to improve rail reliability after at least 15 disruptions across the MRT and LRT networks between July and September 2025.
