MRT reliability breaks records; Bukit Panjang LRT sees 'significant improvement'

Singapore's MRT network, excluding the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), recorded its sixth consecutive month of Mean Kilometres Between Failure (MKBF) exceeding 2 million train-km.

The monthly rail reliability report published by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) stated that the MRT network's MKBF rose to 3.38 million train-km, up from 2.88 million train-km the preceding month.

All MRT lines’ MKBF remain above one million train-km, including the oldest North-South (NSL) and East-West Line (EWL), LTA said on Thursday (Oct 15).

Rail reliability is mainly tracked using a 12-month moving average of the MKBF metric, which counts the average distance a train travels before it meets a delay of over five minutes.

It also shows that four mature MRT lines — NSL, East-West Line, North-East Line (NEL), and Circle Line (CCL) — either maintained or improved their 12-month MKBF moving average.

While the Downtown Line fell from its MKBF of 8.37 million train-km in August, the 4.19 million train-km clocked in September still betters its averages between January and July.

The EWL saw the biggest improvement in its MKBF from the 2.52 million train-km in August to 3.36 million in September.

LTA said after the report was published that the achievement was only possible because of its transport workers and rail operators.

"Our high MKBF levels over the last six months reflect their sustained effort and dedication to uplift reliability and improve their response to faults and incidents, as well as the constant upgrading and maintenance work on our rail systems."

Meanwhile, MKBF for TEL increased from 415,000 train-km in August to 498,000 train-km in September — continuing on a trajectory of improvement.

TEL is not included in the overall MRT network's MKBF as it is still undergoing construction and extension, and system integration works are ongoing alongside regular operations and maintenance.

Bukit Panjang LRT sees 'significant improvement'

Ongoing renewal works on the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT), set for completion by February next year , have also led to "significant improvement" in its reliability, LTA said.

Its MKBF reached 443,000 car-km in September, the highest it has achieved on record. In comparison, its MKBF in 2017 was 53,000 car-km.

"The substantial completion of BPLRT renewal works this year has significantly improved the reliability of the system, and allowed us to deliver smoother and more reliable journeys for commuters," the authority said.

This improved reliability follows the introduction of the full fleet of third-generation LRVs and the migration to the new CBTC signalling system from the legacy system.

Train service delivery and train punctuality

Two other metrices used by LTA to track rail reliability — train service delivery and train punctuality — also remain high at above 99 per cent in September.

Train service delivery measures the actual distance travelled by trains compared to the scheduled distance, while train punctuality measures the extent to which trips are completed on time.

The NSL, CCL and DTL recorded improvements on their train service delivery, while the NEL saw its performance on this metric drop slightly.

There was no change to the EWL's performance.

Overall, the MRT network recorded train service delivery of 99.84 per cent in September.

Meanwhile, train punctuality on the overall network climbed 99.03 per cent in August, to 99.36 per cent in September

Of the five mature lines, only NEL saw a slight dip in its performance on this metric.

新加坡地铁网络（不包括汤申-东海岸线）连续第六个月平均故障间隔公里数 (MKBF) 超过 200 万列车公里。

陆路交通管理局 (LTA) 发布的月度铁路可靠性报告显示，地铁网络的 MKBF 增至 338 万列车公里，高于上个月的 288 万列车公里。

陆路交通管理局周四（10 月 15 日）表示，所有地铁线路的 MKBF 均超过 100 万列车公里，包括最老的南北线 (NSL) 和东西线 (EWL)。

铁路可靠性主要通过 MKBF 指标的 12 个月移动平均值来跟踪，该指标计算列车在延误超过 5 分钟之前平均行驶的距离。

报告还显示，四条成熟的地铁线路——南北线、东西线、东北线和环线——保持或提高了其 12 个月的 MKBF 移动平均值。

尽管市区线的 MKBF 从 8 月份的 837 万列车公里下降，但 9 月份的 419 万列车公里仍然优于 1 月至 7 月的平均水平。

东西线铁路的列车运行里程 (MKBF) 从 8 月份的 252 万列车公里增加到 9 月份的 336 万列车公里，增幅最大。

陆路交通管理局在报告发布后表示，这一成就的取得完全归功于其运输工人和铁路运营商的努力。

“过去六个月我们较高的 MKBF 水平反映了他们为提高可靠性、改善对故障和事故的响应能力所付出的持续努力和奉献精神，以及我们铁路系统不断进行的升级和维护工作。”

与此同时，东京地铁的 MKBF 从 8 月份的 415,000 列车公里增加到 9 月份的 498,000 列车公里，继续保持改善的趋势。

由于汤申-东南线 (TEL) 仍在建设和扩建中，并且系统集成工作与日常运营和维护同时进行，因此它不包含在整个地铁网络的 MKBF 中。

武吉班让轻轨看到“显着改善”

陆路交通管理局表示，武吉班让轻轨（BPLRT）正在进行的更新工程预计将于明年2月完工，该工程也使其可靠性得到了“显著提高”。

其9月份的MKBF（车辆行驶里程）达到44.3万公里，创历史新高。相比之下，其2017年的MKBF为5.3万公里。

“今年BPLRT更新工程的实质性完成显著提高了系统的可靠性，使我们能够为通勤者提供更顺畅、更可靠的旅程，”该机构表示。

可靠性的提高得益于第三代轻轨车辆的全面投入使用以及从传统系统向新的基于通信的列车控制系统 (CBTC) 信号系统的迁移。

列车服务交付和列车准点率

陆路交通管理局用来追踪铁路可靠性的另外两项指标——列车服务交付率和列车准点率——在9月份也保持在99%以上的高位。

列车服务交付衡量列车实际行驶距离与预定行驶距离的比较，而列车准点率衡量旅程按时完成的程度。

NSL、CCL 和 DTL 的列车服务交付情况均有所改善，而 NEL 在该指标上的表现略有下降。

EWL的成绩没有变化。

总体而言，地铁网络9月份的列车服务交付率达到99.84%。

与此同时，8月份全线列车准点率从99.03%上升至9月份的99.36%。

在五条成熟产品线中，只有NEL在该指标上的表现略有下降。