EWL disruption: Transport Minister determined to make MRT more resilient as he addresses train age, fare increases

First-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) trains that remain reliable can continue to be used if they have not exceeded the total service life of 38 years, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat in Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 15).

In a ministerial statement, he addressed a series of parliamentary questions on the East-West Line MRT disruptions that took place last month.

Responding to questions on first-gen trains' operations and maintenance by Workers' Party MPs Gerald Giam and Dennis Tan, Chee said that the total service life of the trains — 38 years — had been determined by an independent assessor, which evaluated the trains' structural integrity, in 2012.

"The reliability of a train depends on several factors, and not only on its age alone," he said.

Chee explained that under the New Rail Financing Framework, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) owns rail operating assets such as the train fleet while rail operators are responsible for maintaining, deploying, and operating the assets.

In 2018 and 2020, LTA purchased a total of 106 new R151 trains to replace the North-South and East-West Lines' first-generation trains, including the KHI fleet.

The first batch of three R151 trains was handed over to rail operator SMRT and put into service in June 2023, with new trains progressively handed over at a rate of about two trains per month.

So far, 34 R151 trains have been handed over to SMRT, said Chee.

"The plan is to replace all the KHI trains with the new R151 trains by end-2026, before they reach their 38-year service mark."

On Sept 25, the axle box of a faulty first-generation KHI train — which had been in service for more than 35 years — fell, damaging trackside equipment and a 2.55km stretch of track between Dover station and the Ulu Pandan depot.

This caused a six-day train service disruption between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations, affecting a total of approximately three million passenger journeys.

In his ministerial statement, Chee also said that the root cause of the of the axle box failure, fault detection and incident handling procedures will be investigated by LTA with support by an Expert Advisory Panel. 

The Ministry of Transport's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau will also be conducting an independent safety investigation, he added.

"We expect the investigations to be completed in the next few months, and the findings will be released publicly.

"LTA will mete out penalties if the investigations reveal lapses."

Fare reviews should not be linked to service levels and disruptions: Chee

Addressing WP MP Gerald Giam's question on whether the MRT disruption and service levels can be taken into consideration in the 2024 Fare Review Exercise, Chee said the Public Transport Council (PTC) had previously decided not to do so as there are "other measures in place to ensure service standards are met".

"For service disruptions, LTA would establish the cause and accountability and mete out penalties where necessary.

"In addition, when operators do not meet reliability targets, they will also not receive payments under our incentive schemes," the transport minister added.

He pointed out that the PTC had deferred most of the maximum allowable fare quantum (18.9 per cent) for this year's Fare Review Exercise and granted a six per cent overall increase in fares to ensure that fares remain affordable.

"If our fares are not adjusted to reflect rising operating costs, the persistent shortfall would have a chronic impact on service quality and reliability over time," he stressed.

"Or if we want to continue topping-up the shortfall via Government subsidies, it means that taxpayers will have to fund a larger bill."

All MRT lines predicted to have reached reliability target

The MRT's reliability is predicted to have achieved the Mean Kilometres Between Failure (MKBF) target of one million train-km, according to estimates by LTA up to end September 2024.

MKBF is a reliability benchmark measuring the mean distance travelled without service delays lasting more than five minutes.

Explaining the differences in MKBF outcomes for the different MRT lines, Chee said each line has its "own characteristics", such as age and whether they are under- or overground as well as the different times each MRT system was commissioned or renewed.

"But the key is that all the lines met our target of at least one million MKBF and we are subjecting them to stringent maintenance and operational standards," he added.

During the EWL disruption, most commuters were able to continue with their journeys, albeit with additional travel time, because of the "more resilient" public transport network made up of six MRT lines and a "sizeable" fleet of buses, said Chee.

Buses provide "some resilience" during rail disruptions, but the transport minister acknowledged that they "cannot fully replace rail capacity", even with the activation of bridging buses. 

Hence, alternative routes using other MRT lines and regular bus services were also necessary.

"While we do our best to avoid disruptions, incidents may still happen from time to time. What is important is how we respond to the incidents, and how we learn from them to strengthen our resilience against future disruptions," the transport minister said.

He concluded his ministerial statement by highlighting how improving the safety, reliability, and resilience of the public transport system is an ongoing mission.

"This incident was a setback, but it will not shake our determination to do better and make our MRT a safe, reliable, and resilient rail system that Singaporeans can be proud of."

ALSO READ: No abnormalities detected: SMRT says after 'ultrasonic inspections' made on disrupted East-West Line

lim.kewei@asiaone.com