Overall MRT reliability hits all-time high in August, DTL posts 99.3% improvement from July

SINGAPORE – The Republic’s MRT network is the most reliable it has ever been, with four of the five mature lines recording improvements in August.

On average, MRT trains clocked 2.88 million train-km between delays lasting more than five minutes between September 2025 and August 2026, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in its latest rail reliability report on Sept 11.

This is almost triple Singapore’s rail reliability target for the entire MRT network of one million train-km between delays, or one million mean km between failures (MKBF).

MKBF is a widely used engineering measure of rail reliability and shows how far a train travels before it encounters a delay lasting more than five minutes.

LTA’s figures are based on a 12-month moving average.

In August, there were also no major delays exceeding 30 minutes across the five mature MRT lines and the LRT network, according to the rail reliability report.

This marks the longest period without such a delay on these lines since the last one in November 2025 on the East-West Line (EWL).

The Downtown Line (DTL), operated by SBS Transit (SBST), rose up the ranks to become the most reliable MRT line, averaging 8.37 million train-km between delays in August, almost twice the 4.2 million train-km in July. This is an improvement of 99.3 per cent.

Coming in second place is the North East Line (NEL), also run by SBST, which clocked 4.48 million train-km between delays in August, up from 4.47 million train-km in the previous month. It had previously been the most reliable line.

LTA said both DTL and NEL recorded their highest theoretically possible MKBF in the past year due to the lengths of these lines and the number of trips their trains complete each day.

After these two lines, the next most reliable was the EWL, which recorded 2.52 million train-km between delays, an improvement from 2.02 million train-km in July.

The reliability of the Circle Line (CCL) also went up, clocking 2.51 million train-km between delays in August, up from 2.45 million train-km the previous month.

The North-South Line’s (NSL) reliability remained unchanged at 1.65 million train-km.

SMRT operates the NSL and EWL, which are Singapore’s oldest MRT lines, as well as the CCL.

In a statement, LTA said the improvement in reliability was made possible by transport workers and rail operators who put in effort and dedication to improve reliability and response to faults.

The authority said this also reflects the impact of the recommendations made by the rail reliability task force in February, which LTA, SMRT and SBST have been following up on.

Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow described the latest reliability figures as a milestone.

He said in a Facebook post that the rail reliability task force allowed the operators and LTA to work closer together, share knowledge and support each other.

Still, a train disruption from time to time may be unavoidable because the MRT system is complicated, he added.

Siow also said: “We fully prioritise commuter safety. This means that whenever we detect a potential problem, we will stop the system immediately, remedy the issue, before the trains are allowed to continue on their journey.”

The proportion of train services that operated on schedule and the punctuality of trains, however, inched downwards.

Across all lines, 99.62 per cent of train services operated on schedule in August, down from 99.71 per cent the previous month, the report said.

The punctuality of trains across all five lines also dropped in August, to 99.03 per cent from 99.29 per cent.

DTL recorded lower figures for the punctuality of trains and the proportion of train services operating on schedule due to planned system integration testing.

The figures for the network’s newest line, the SMRT-run Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), are excluded from the overall report. Its reliability went up in August, averaging 415,000 train-km between delays, from 373,000 the previous month.

MRT lines in their early stages tend to have significantly lower mileage, owing to relatively low ridership and trains not running at typical frequencies.

TEL also did not encounter a major delay exceeding 30 minutes in August. LTA said the line’s performance is expected to improve after it fully opens in 2026 and operations have stabilised.

TEL’s fifth and final stage, comprising Bedok South and Sungei Bedok stations, will open later in 2026.

The LRT network’s overall reliability also improved in August, with trains averaging 734,000 car-km between delays, up from 670,000 car-km in the previous month.

The SBST-run Sengkang-Punggol LRT recorded 1.08 million car-km between delays, improving from 898,000 car-km.

The Bukit Panjang LRT, operated by SMRT, was also more reliable in August, clocking 443,000 car-km between delays, up from 441,000 car-km.