Big gains in rail reliability: SMRT

THERE has been at least a three-fold improvement in rail reliability for Singapore's oldest MRT lines, said train operator SMRT on Monday.

Using the 12-month average of Mean Kilometres Between Failure (MKBF) for incidents lasting more than five minutes as an indicator for reliability, as at March 31, 2017, the North-South Line and Circle Line (CCL) are now at 180,000km and 282,000km respectively, while the East-West Line has held steady at 145,000km.

"Compared with five years ago, this is a three-fold improvement in rail reliability for our oldest lines, and almost five times for the CCL,'' said SMRT president and group CEO Desmond Kuek.

He was speaking to the media during a report on the progress made by SMRT in rail reliability.

When asked about talk that SMRT is in discussions with private hire company Grab to sell its taxi business, Mr Kuek would only say SMRT "will look at all ways to partner with'' Grab.

SMRT's roughly 3,400 cabs already use Grab's third-party booking platform. SMRT Taxis' subsidiary Strides Transportation also collaborates with Grab by providing car-booking services.