Opening Remarks by Minister For Transport Mr Khaw Boon Wan at the Signing Ceremony for Mid-Life Upgrade of North East Line Trains

Friends and colleagues,

1.     Our priority in the Ministry of Transport is to make our train service reliable. We are expending huge resources and management time on this mission, at MOT, LTA and our train operators. As it is a national priority, we also have support from many government agencies: SAF, PUB, DSO, etc.

2.     It is still work-in-progress, but I think we have turned the corner on rail reliability. Of course this is not to say that there will be no more train disruptions but train delays have become much less frequent and the situation continues to improve.

3.     We track our progress very closely, through using this metric – MKBF, which you’re familiar with, Mean Kilometres Between Failure. 2018 is coming to a close and our MRT system, as a whole, should cross the MKBF target of 400,000 train-km by a very comfortable margin. Our oldest line, the North-South Line (NSL) run by SMRT, has improved almost ten times from 89,000 train-km last year to 824,000 train-km based on the past eleven months. It an achievement which I dared not even dream of last year. A lot of hard work put in and we are all very happy to be able to achieve this. This is a very highly commendable performance. Earlier this month, NSL crossed its 200^th day without any disruption.

4.     Two lines, North East Line (NEL) and Downtown Line (DTL) have done very well. In particular, NEL has consistently surpassed our long term MKBF target of 1 million train-km this year. Again, when I set this stretch target of 1 million train-km, it was not plucked from the sky. I took a look at how the other good MRT lines in other cities performed. Some metros have been able to achieve it, but not many. To be able to achieve it consistently, very, very few metros have been able to do it and I thought in order to motivate our staff, I deliberately chose this very stretch target of 1 million MKBF. And now, to be able to see at least one of our lines, NEL, performing this achievement, I must commend LTA, SBS Transit and the respective OEM suppliers for this sterling performance.

5.     DTL itself is still young, below 5 years, but NEL is not. It is in fact our third oldest line, after NSL and East-West Line (EWL). It is 15 years old, and the NEL trains have reached mid-life because typical shelf life is about 30 years. Former SMRT management underinvested in the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) and did the minimum when NSEWL needed upgrading and intensified maintenance. The cumulative effects of their decisions in those years were only corrected in recent years, at great inconvenience to commuters. We have learnt this hard lesson. We are determined not to have it repeated.

6.     That is why NEL will be undergoing major enhancement and renewal works. This afternoon’s contract signing to upgrade all 25 NEL trains from the first generation fleet is a major part of this NEL upgrading programme. We will use the opportunity to install condition monitoring systems on the trains as part of our predictive maintenance programme. We will also be replacing ageing electrical components and mechanical systems to improve their reliability. In addition, we will be upgrading the air-conditioning, ventilation and passenger information systems, as well as giving the trains’ interior a facelift. I think all these efforts should improve commuter experience.

7.     This is a significant investment on the part of LTA. This afternoon’s contract alone will cost LTA $117 million. It will be fully paid for by the Government. The enhancements will benefit the 600,000 or so commuters who take the NEL every day.

8.     When MRT lines are young, the current engineering hours of 3 to 4 hours a day, are enough. But as lines age, we have to intensify maintenance. The current engineering hours will no longer be sufficient. Again learning from the NSEWL, we will extend engineering hours for NEL. This will allow us time to renew parts of the power and signalling systems and also to replace rail crossings and tracks for the NEL. I know this will inconvenience commuters and I thank them for their support, and hope to continue to have their kind understanding.

9.     Meanwhile, the re-signalling of EWL has stabilised. EWL is however still experiencing some non-CBTC (communications-based train control) related delays owing to old track circuits, point machines, etc. As we replace out the old parts, the EWL should be able to catch up with the NSL, in terms of rail reliability. Together, this should bring us closer to achieving the overall system stretch target of 1 million MKBF.