Reliability of MRT drops in August as LTA now gives monthly updates on rail performance

The reliability of the MRT network dipped in August, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Friday (Oct 10) in its first monthly report of Singapore’s rail performance.

Previously published on a quarterly basis, it said that the monthly updates are part of its efforts to improve transparency and accountability.

LTA sets a one million train-km target for its MRT network. 

Rail reliability in Singapore is measured using 12-month mean kilometres between failure (MKBF) metric, which tracks the average distance a train travels before experiencing a delay of more than five minutes.

The MKBF as at the end of August was 1,740,000 train-km, according to the report, a drop from the 1,818,000 train-km as of the end of July, but an improvement from 1,598,000 train-km as of the end June.

The North-South Line and Circle Line both saw increases in their MKBF since end-July, from 1,413,000 to 1,648,000 train-km, and 1,067,000 train-km to 1,245,000 train-km respectively.

The Downtown Line’s reliability fell from 4,131,000 train-km to 2,760,000 train-km, while the North-East Line dipped to 2,142,000 train-km.

"These were due to one delay on each line in Aug 2025, reflecting the sensitivity of MKBF to small variations in the number of delays above one million train-km," said LTA.

The authority said it will also start publishing the performance and the number of delays lasting less than 30 minutes for the Thomson-East Coast Line from this edition of the report onwards.

"While MKBF provides a reasonable indicator for reliability of mature rail lines, its limitations can make it less reflective of the reliability of a newer line," said LTA, adding that new rail lines in their early stages tend to clock significantly lower mileage due to the shorter line and lower ridership.

"In addition, the operation of new lines, especially lines that are still undergoing construction and extension, will take time to stabilise."

LTA’s updates come after Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said in Parliament on Sept 22 that more data on rail reliability would be made publicly available.

"We will be transparent, because we have a good system and we have nothing to hide," he said.

On the limitation of using MKBF as an indicator, Siow acknowledged that it does not measure the length of the disruption, and hence the impact on the commuter.

In its news release on Friday, LTA said it has been publishing the number of delays lasting more than 30 minutes in its rail reliability report to reflect the frequency of more severe disruptions.

The authority added that it will also look into sharing more indicators, such as the punctuality of trains reaching each station.

"We are also studying further additional metrics that better reflect the impact of rail disruptions on commuters," said LTA. "Preliminarily, this could include the number of commuter trips affected by rail disruptions, taking into account the extent and duration of disruptions."

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chingshijie@asiaone.com