The severe disruption on Singapore’s East-West Line, now entering its third day on 27 September 2024, has drawn significant public scrutiny, including sharp criticism from Christopher Tan, a retired Senior Correspondent for The Straits Times.

In a LinkedIn post on Thursday, Tan questioned why the breakdown occurred so soon after the completion of a decade-long, multi-billion-dollar rail renewal program, which had been touted as enhancing the reliability of Singapore’s rail system.

The incident, triggered by a train derailment, has caused extensive damage to the track and infrastructure, and may affect over one million commutes by the time services are fully restored.

The disruption began on 25 September when a first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries train suffered a critical malfunction near Dover station.

A defective axle box caused a bogie—an undercarriage assembly that supports the wheels—to derail, leading to extensive damage over a 1.6km stretch of track between Clementi and Dover stations.

According to an earlier Facebook post by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the derailment resulted in 34 rail breaks and damaged critical infrastructure, including power cables and point machines. The damage triggered a power trip that disrupted train services along one of Singapore’s oldest and busiest rail lines.

In his LinkedIn post, Tan noted that this was the third major rail disruption in two weeks, following incidents on the Circle Line, and warned that this could become one of the most disruptive MRT breakdowns in Singapore’s history.

“It could go down as an MRT incident with the biggest adverse impact—over one million commutes may be affected by the time it is completely resolved,” Tan wrote.

He pointed out that the breakdown occurred just under a year after the LTA marked the completion of its decade-long rail renewal program on 25 October 2023, which had included significant investments in core systems such as signaling, track circuits, and power supply.

Tan’s critique focused on the fact that SMRT had placed an aging train into operation, noting that the train involved was over 35 years old.

While SMRT pointed to the age of the train, Tan dismissed this as a weak defense, arguing that metros worldwide, such as Hong Kong’s MTR, operate trains that are even older, provided they are well-maintained.

“If these [trains] are well-maintained, they can last longer than 35 years,” Tan said, adding that it was SMRT’s responsibility to ensure that any train in operation is deemed trackworthy, regardless of its age.

In his post, Tan called for full transparency from the authorities, questioning why the incident occurred despite SMRT’s use of predictive maintenance systems designed to prevent such failures.

“We have been told SMRT now practices preventive and predictive maintenance… So, what happened to that fateful train?” Tan asked, urging LTA and SMRT to conduct a thorough investigation and provide full disclosure to restore public confidence in the rail system.

He emphasized that transparency and accountability are essential, given the significant public investment in the renewal program.

The rail renewal program, completed in October 2023, was Singapore’s largest rail improvement effort to date, costing S$2.6 billion.

It involved extensive upgrades to six core systems on the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL), including replacing track circuits, power supply systems, and the introduction of new trains equipped with condition monitoring systems designed to detect and address faults before they led to major disruptions.

In its October 2023 press release, LTA had also announced the acquisition of new trains to progressively replace the aging fleet of first, second, and third-generation trains on the North-South and East-West Lines.

These new trains, equipped with condition monitoring systems, are part of ongoing efforts to upgrade the fleet and prevent disruptions by detecting and addressing faults before they cause significant failures. As of the 2023 announcement, 26 of these new trains had arrived in Singapore, with seven already in passenger service and the rest expected to be operational by 2026.

Despite earlier hopes to restore partial services by Friday, LTA and SMRT confirmed on 26 September that the disruption would persist into a third day, with authorities now aiming to restore full services by Monday, 30 September.

As repair efforts continue, commuters are advised to stay updated on announcements from SMRT and LTA regarding service restoration timelines.

On 25 September, SMRT, Singapore’s train operator, experienced another major disruption, this time affecting the East-West Line (EWL). Regular train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT stations will be unavailable on 26 September.

According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), The disruption was triggered by a power fault around 9:30 a.m., which forced the suspension of regular train operations between Boon Lay and Queenstown MRT stations for the remainder of the day.

The issue originated from a first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries train near Clementi station. This train encountered a mechanical fault in its axle box, leading to wheel derailment and damage to critical infrastructure, including the third rail and point machines.

While withdrawing the faulty train to the Ulu Pandan depot, a power trip occurred at 9:25 a.m., causing another train to stall between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations.

This marks SMRT’s third service disruption in a month, following a power fault on 17 September that affected Circle Line services and a subsequent fire at Kim Chuan Depot on 18 September, which caused brief disruptions to the same line.

In response to the latest disruption, Singaporeans took to social media to scrutinise SMRT’s repeated faults.

Many commuters described the service recovery as the “worst ever,” criticizing the lack of staff support to guide passengers to bridging buses or provide clear directions during the breakdown.

Criticism was also directed at SMRT’s leadership, particularly the CEO, for failing to take visible responsibility during these incidents, raising questions about the accountability and effectiveness of the company’s management—especially with fare increases on the horizon.

SMRT Chairman Seah Moon Ming in a 2023 interview: “We don’t want overmaintenance”

Discussion on Reddit recalled remarks made by SMRT Corporation Chairman Mr Seah Moon Ming in a June 2023 interview with The Straits Times.

He stated, “We never want to undermaintain because in the past, it was an issue. But neither do we want to do overmaintenance.”

At that time, the 67-year-old emphasised the need for high performance while also considering costs.

The ST even boasted about the reliability of SMRT’s train services has improved significantly since his appointment.

While acknowledging that SMRT can always improve, Mr Seah cautioned against excessive efforts to achieve ever-higher reliability scores, citing the risk of overspending public funds received through government grants.

Mr Seah mentioned that SMRT is leveraging technology such as data analytics to optimize its maintenance regimen and better predict when components need replacement. He noted that SMRT’s rail lines have consistently achieved a mean kilometres travelled between failures (MKBF) of over one million train-kilometers—a recognized international measure of rail reliability.

Separately, SMRT Group Chief Executive Mr Ngien Hoon Ping, who was appointed in August 2022, stated that the one million MKBF benchmark is sufficient from a regulatory standpoint. The former LTA chief noted that raising this bar yields diminishing returns and could be prohibitively expensive.

“If 99.9 per cent of the time the train is going to work, commuters will take the train. Once you reach one million MKBF, it is about there already, ” Mr Ngien said.

Reddit discussions highlight the stark contrast between SMRT Chairman and GCEO’s 2023 remarks and the recent disruptions

Observing comments on a Reddit thread discussion, evidently many make stark contrast with the SMRT Chairman and GCEO’s June 2023 remark with the latest disruption.

One Redditor criticized Mr. Seah’s statement that the company aims to avoid “overmaintenance,” describing it as a red flag and suggesting that he should have undergone communication training.

The comment emphasised that such thoughts should remain internal rather than being publicly aired.

Others contributed by speculating that a significant portion of SMRT’s maintenance budget has already been spent without yielding improved reliability, as evidenced by the recent breakdowns.

He proposed that fundamental changes to MRT infrastructure—such as extending station lengths and increasing train capacity—are necessary to effectively address the breakdown issues. They argued that these changes would reduce operational stress and enhance the overall lifespan of the trains.

A user expressed frustration regarding SMRT’s management and reliability issues compared to SBS Transit. The Redditor criticised SMRT as an organization, suggesting that it has failed to manage public resources effectively, pointing to the low reliability of the Circle Line as a key example.

” I think once and for all transfer all SMRT assets to SBS transit and wind down the company for good. The public had enough for this kind of issues once too many.”

Another user chimed in by referencing a previous remark from the ex-SMRT CEO about “deep-seated cultural issues” within the train operator.

The Redditor was referencing a remark made by then-SMRT GCEO Desmond Kuek in 2017, in which he acknowledged that the issues within the company had contributed to the major disruptions experienced since 2011.

While Redditor pointing out that the article is more than a year old and not a recent press release, other suggesting that that maintenance problems do not arise suddenly, indicating that there is often a delay between when corners are cut in maintenance and when issues manifest as significant problems.

“Costs Rise and Reliability Declines”

A comment expressed concern about the current imbalance in the public transport system, noting that while costs are increasing, the reliability of services is declining.

The comment warned that with Singapore’s continually expanding population, this situation could lead to more frequent breakdowns and subsequent fare hikes.

Another user questioned the maintenance and longevity of MRT trains by comparing them to cars, which are typically scrapped after 10 years to prevent issues that could disrupt traffic.

The user inquired about the expected lifespan of MRT trains, highlighting concerns about whether the trains are being adequately maintained and if they are reaching a point where they may become unreliable.

Just two weeks ago, the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced that bus and train fares will increase by 10 cents per journey for adult commuters starting on 28 December 2024.

One user proposed a suggestion that for every service interruption, a percentage should be deducted from the CEO’s salary to hold SMRT leaders accountable for the company’s performance.

However, another user dismissed this notion, arguing that rather than leading to accountability, such interruptions might instead prompt authorities to justify fare hikes as a means to cover increased maintenance costs.