Don't overlook fiscal sustainability of the public transport system

WHAT now looks like Singapore's largest public transport breakdown to date - a power trip that crippled services on two major MRT lines on Tuesday - has resurfaced commuters' doubts and frustration over rail reliability. But it also raises questions over SMRT Corporation's proposed move to a new rail financing framework, which has been in discussion for over a year now.

This unprecedented disruption will worsen already tainted perceptions of rail reliability - which the government says has actually improved. In March, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, while acknowledging that more needs to be done, delivered a report card of sorts to show just that.

The number of unscheduled train withdrawals along the North-South and East-West lines - the very two which failed on Tuesday - fell to 1.1 per 100,000 train-kilometre in 2014, from 2.2 in 2013 and 3.3 in 2012; the number of service delays lasting longer than five minutes fell 20 per cent in 2014, compared to 2012. Mr Lui also spoke of joint teams that have been set up between the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the public transport operators, and the tightened regulatory framework.