For subscribers
Rail subsidies rise as reliability goes up
Nearly $600m from taxpayers used last year as rail operations have not been profitable
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A train on the North-South Line. The LTA attributed rail operators' poor financials to recent efforts to improve rail reliability that have increased their costs. The MRT network currently has one delay for every 1.6 million train-km clocked, compared with 133,000 train-km in 2015.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Follow topic:
Higher rail reliability has come at a substantial cost, with taxpayers having to subsidise rail operations by nearly $600 million last year.
This is a stark change from before the New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF) came into full effect in 2018, when operators owned operating assets like trains and funded replacements with fares - a regime which worked initially, but eventually resulted in patchy service.
