To strengthen Singapore’s rail network and reliability, the Rail Reliability Taskforce^[1] established a five-member Independent Advisory Panel to provide strategic guidance and technical expertise (see Annex for background of the members).

2.       The five Panel members are in Singapore from 17 to 21 November 2025 for consultations with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and local rail operators SMRT and SBS Transit. The Panel will review the findings of the Rail Reliability Taskforce thus far, and visit local rail facilities to assess their current operational practices, maintenance protocols, system integration approaches and reliability enhancement measures across the rail network. The Panel will also examine their incident response strategies and review organisational competencies.

3.        Representing the Panel members, Dr Tony Lee said, “Singapore’s rail system operates at high reliability standards by international benchmarks. Keeping these standards up is a constant endeavour as systems and components wear and tear, and ridership grows. The Taskforce is taking steps in the right direction, in reviewing areas such as asset renewal, spares management, strengthening system design, commuter engagement during disruptions and further leveraging technology to monitor the performance of core systems like rolling stock, signalling and power supply.”

4.        “As Singapore’s network grows and ages, maintenance and renewal activities will have to pick up in pace. At the same time, renewing several critical systems simultaneously while managing day-to-day rail operations poses challenges, and the works will need to be carefully planned and spread out. Currently, available engineering hours are short. LTA should plan for longer scheduled closures of segments of rail services for maintenance and renewal projects to be safely and effectively expedited,” he added.

5.         Panel members also encouraged the Taskforce to strive for a comprehensive condition-monitoring system, to allow the operators to advance predictive maintenance. “It will take several years for Singapore to do so across the rail network, coupled with skills upgrading and process innovations by operations and maintenance teams. Beyond improving rail systems, we note that the Taskforce has also looked into increasing the deployment of new technologies – like digitalisation, AI and automation – to manage systems and fix faults before they occur. It is also worth investing in simulation systems to test scenarios and mitigate situations early”, Dr Lee added.

6.        Panel members also emphasised the importance of building a sustained talent pipeline of engineering talents in the rail sector. Dr Lee said, “System designers should gain frontline operational experience and be able to access career rotation opportunities within the sector; similarly, frontline operators should build up system design and asset management knowledge. Rail operators must continue to develop the engineering agility to manage day-to-day challenges. Building up the technical competency of our rail engineering workforce would also mitigate vendor lock-in risks, alongside building collaborative relationships rather than relying on traditional buyer-supplier models.

7.        To expedite engineering recovery and improve communications during rail incidents, the Taskforce advised rail operators to tailor their communications to three distinct groups: passengers stranded in trains, passengers in affected stations, and those outside the network who might be considering travel on the affected service.

8.        "We thank the Panel members for their participation in this ongoing review to enhance reliability standards across our rail network," said Mr Ng Lang, Chief Executive of LTA and Chairman of the Rail Reliability Taskforce. "They come with rich experience and diverse expertise, and have provided a valuable review of the Taskforce’s work.”

9.        The Panel's findings and recommendations will contribute to the Rail Reliability Taskforce's ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability and passenger experience across the rail network. These will form part of the Taskforce’s report that will be submitted to the Acting Minister for Transport by the end of 2025. More details on the report will be shared in due course.


Annex:  Profile of Independent Advisory Panel

^[1] Formed in September 2025, the Rail Reliability Taskforce is chaired by LTA Chief Executive Ng Lang and includes SMRT Group Chief Executive Officer Ngien Hoon Ping, SBST Group Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Sim, and technical specialists drawn from across the rail sector. The Taskforce will develop and implement immediate solutions to improve rail reliability and joint responses to service disruptions.