The Rail Reliability Taskforce has submitted its recommendations on enhancing the reliability of our rail system to the Acting Minister for Transport.
2. The Taskforce was formed on 19 September 2025 to develop and implement immediate solutions to improve rail reliability and joint responses to train service disruptions. The Taskforce is chaired by LTA Chief Executive Ng Lang, and includes SMRT Group Chief Executive Officer Ngien Hoon Ping, SBST Group Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Sim, as well as technical specialists across the rail sector.
3. A five-member Independent Advisory Panel was also appointed to provide strategic advice and technical expertise to the Taskforce. The Panel comprises seasoned leaders who have held key engineering and management roles in the rail sector around the world, with deep experience in the operations, management and maintenance of core rail systems.
4. The Taskforce commenced its review with joint technical audits of systems related to the incidents from July to September 2025. It also undertook a comprehensive and in-depth review of rail operations and maintenance – specifically asset management, workforce capabilities, as well as rail service recovery and commuter management.
5. As part of its work, the Taskforce conducted detailed technical workshops, site visits, direct ground observations, and interviews with operational and technical staff on the ground. The Independent Advisory Panel visited Singapore from 17 to 21 November 2025, where they reviewed the Taskforce’s preliminary findings, and assessed our operators’ practices, capabilities and incident response strategies. A summary of the Taskforce’s recommendations follows.
Addressing Recent Service Disruptions
6. The train service disruptions from July to September 2025 occurred across different MRT and LRT lines, and involved different systems such as signalling, power and rolling stock. The Taskforce found that while the underlying causes of the incidents were unrelated, there were several areas for improvement. For example, the Taskforce recommends introducing additional backup or bypass systems and procedures to allow train operations to continue or resume more quickly after a minor fault, once the safety of passengers has been ensured.
Enhancing Asset Management
7. The Taskforce recommends prioritising the renewal of three core systems (trains, signalling, and power) and to shorten the time taken to renew these systems. To achieve this, more engineering hours should be set aside, including through full day service closures, to carry out such works expeditiously, efficiently and safely.
8. The Taskforce also recommends leveraging technology and data to implement more comprehensive and standardised condition monitoring across our rail network, to allow for more timely interventions on pre-emptive maintenance and replacement of critical components. This complements the Taskforce’s recommendation to improve the management of spare components and parts to ensure that they are available when needed. Robotics and automation could also be deployed more extensively to augment our rail workforce in carrying out maintenance tasks more efficiently.
Deepening Workforce Capabilities
9. The Taskforce recognises that the rail sector needs to continually upgrade its workforce and sustain a pipeline of engineering talent to operate and manage an ageing and expanding network. The Taskforce recommends that LTA and the rail operators work together to strengthen the role of the Singapore Rail Academy in harmonising and raising standards across the board to prepare the rail workforce for future challenges. This would include enhancing the professional certification framework for rail engineers and technicians, by expanding certification coverage to more rail systems and workers. The Taskforce also recommends more structured and frequent staff rotations between LTA and the rail operators to build common perspectives and capabilities.
Improving Rail Service Recovery and Commuter Management
10. Maintaining a high level of rail reliability reduces, but does not eliminate, delays and disruptions, which will still happen from time to time. To improve rail service recovery and commuter management, the Taskforce recommends enhancing standard operating procedures to manage service disruptions on the ground, which will enable quicker and more effective resumption of service after faults. The Taskforce also recommends improving alternative travel options for commuters, as well as adopting a more commuter-centric mindset to guide affected commuters. This includes providing more precise, tailored and real time information on system status and alternative travel routes, as well as better wayfinding on the ground. Beyond the centralised webpage providing the real-time operating status across all rail lines which LTA launched on 13 Dec 2025, the Taskforce recommends developing more tools to provide real-time, journey-specific information to help commuters plan what to do when a disruption occurs.
11. Mr Ng Lang, Chairman of the Rail Reliability Taskforce and Chief Executive of LTA said: “The Taskforce’s work comes at an important time as Singapore juggles ageing existing rail lines alongside rapid network expansion. The challenge of operating and maintaining the rail system will only increase as its size and complexity grow. These recommendations will help guide the next steps to be taken to continue strengthening the reliability of our rail network.”
