MRT reliability edges up in Oct; LTA starts publishing punctuality, passenger impact data for TEL
Lee Nian Tjoe
The Straits Times
Dec 13, 2025
MRT trains on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) fared slightly poorer in terms of punctuality in October than in September, while overall punctuality on the other train lines improved slightly.
On Dec 12, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) released for the first time punctuality data for TEL trains, showing that 98.75 per cent of them completed their scheduled trips within two minutes of their scheduled times in October.
In September, the figure was 99.36 per cent.
Newly published data also showed that TEL trains travelled 98.21 per cent of their scheduled mileage in October, down from 98.88 per cent in September.
A higher value reflects greater rail reliability because it means more trains were on schedule.
According to LTA data, there were three major delays exceeding 30 minutes on the TEL over the past 12 months. The delays on March 12, July 1 and Sept 17 were estimated to have affected an average of up to 4.4 per cent of passengers travelling daily on the line.
The overall reliability of Singapore's rail network, meanwhile, edged up in October, said LTA.
On average, trains covered 1.673 million train-km between delays lasting more than five minutes between November 2024 and October 2025.
This is a slight improvement from the average of 1.671 million train-km recorded between October 2024 and September 2025.
It comes after two consecutive months of declines in reliability.
The Downtown Line (DTL), operated by SBS Transit (SBST), remained the most reliable of five MRT lines, clocking an average of 2.775 million train-km between delays in October, slightly higher than the 2.768 million train-km in September.
The North East Line (NEL) was the second-best performer for the period. Also operated by SBST, it covered 2.174 million train-km between delays in October, up from 2.158 million train-km in September.
The SMRT-operated East-West Line (EWL) recorded 1.694 million train-km between delays in October, slightly higher than the 1.692 million train-km in September.
The Circle Line (CCL), also operated by SMRT, travelled 1.486 million train-km between delays in October, a dip from September's 1.489 million train-km.
SMRT's North-South Line's (NSL) performance remained unchanged in October compared with September, registering 1.236 million train-km between delays.
The performance of TEL, run by SMRT, was not factored into the overall reliability figure as it is not fully opened. It will be included in the overall figure about a year after its fifth and final phase, comprising the Bedok South and Sungei Bedok stations, opens in the second half of 2026.
TEL trains travelled 299,000 train-km between delays in October, up from 287,000 train-km in September.
LTA stated again that the teething issues for TEL will take time to stabilise as they require SMRT and the authority working with the original equipment manufacturers.
While these teething issues – including problems with its signalling system – could result in delays, LTA noted that the nature of such delays is different from those encountered during the operation of mature rail lines.
The overall reliability of Singapore's LRT network decreased, with an average mileage of 423,000 car-km recorded between delays as at October, down from 474,000 car-km the previous month.
The Sengkang-Punggol LRT, operated by SBST, posted 725,000 car-km between delays, down from 842,000 car-km in September.
For the SMRT-run Bukit Panjang LRT, the trains clocked 232,000 car-km between delays, down from 253,000 car-km in September.
Punctuality, trains running on schedule
This is the second monthly rail reliability report in which LTA included how the lines fared in terms of train punctuality and the proportion of train services that operated according to the schedule.
On the whole, 99.32 per cent of MRT trains completed their scheduled trips within two minutes of their scheduled times in October, up from 99.16 per cent in September.
NEL and DTL recorded punctuality improvements, but a lower proportion of trains on NSL, EWL and CCL were on time.
On EWL, for instance, 98.68 per cent of trains arrived on time in October, down from 99.2 per cent in September.
Overall, trains travelled 99.92 per cent of their scheduled mileage in October, up from 99.83 per cent in September.
All the MRT lines, except TEL, recorded improvements on this score.
Across the lines, there was no major disruption that spanned more than 30 minutes in October.
LTA told The Straits Times that there was a minor disruption on Oct 3 caused by a delay in the computer system at the beginning of revenue service, which affected the entire EWL. However, the incident was resolved within 30 minutes.
The LTA spokesperson also said that there were instances of passengers activating the emergency communication button that caused delays on the CCL.
These were due to unwell passengers who needed help, or objects getting stuck between platform doors.
Station staff have typically been able to resolve such incidents speedily to allow the train to continue operations.
"LTA would like to remind all passengers that activation of the emergency communication button is strictly for emergency cases only," the spokesperson added.
