List of Singapore MRT disruptions

For many years, Singapore's public transport system, especially its Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), has been recognized internationally for its efficiency and efficacy. However, since December 2011, frequent and severe disruptions to the MRT services have become a prominent national and international issue, the Singapore MRT quandary. The quandary has been marked by numerous incidents, issues and problems pertaining to the maintenance, quality and reliability of Singapore's MRT system. The quandary began on 15 December 2011, when the North-South Line experienced its first major breakdown. The incident quickly became national headlines and affects the whole-of-school thing in 7 May 2012. Two days later, on 17 December 2011, the North-South Line experienced a second major breakdown. These two MRT disruption incidents affected a sizable part of the population and prompted the Singapore government to respond. Investigations of the two breakdowns by a government-formed Committee of Inquiry revealed shortcomings in SMRT's maintenance regime. On 7 July 2015, a power fault regarding the third rail insulation of the MRT resulted in the disruption of the entire East-West Line and North-South Line. An investigation by the LTA found lapses in maintenance by SMRT.

North South Line (NSL)

 * December 15, 2011 – Train services disrupted, between 6.50 pm to 12.15 am (the next day), on North South Line between Bishan and Marina Bay stations.
 * December 17, 2011 – Train services disrupted, between 7.55 am to 1.18 pm, on North South Line between Toa Payoh and Marina Bay stations.
 * December 18, 2011 – Postponed opening hours of MRT services on North South Line and East West Line.

The two train services that disrupted on the North South Line that took place on 15 and 17 December 2011 were the worst breakdowns in SMRT's history (surpassed by the 2015 disruption that happened later). All MRT stations on the North South Line and East West Line were further closed due to checks on all trains and tracks to be carried out. Train services started at 10 am instead. Free parallel bus services were also available from 5.30 am to 10 am. However, as the checks were not completed, train services were delayed up to two hours. Train service on the East West Line resumed at 11 am while North South Line resumed fully at 12.08 pm.

Committee of Inquiry (COI) into December 2011 breakdowns
In December 2011, the government commissioned a Committee of Inquiry into the state of breakdowns and disruptions of the train services. The committee is headed by Tan Siong Thye, Chief District Judge of the Subordinate Courts and the two other committee members are Professor Lim Mong King from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Nanyang Technological University and Soh Wai Wah, Director of Prisons. On July 3, 2012, the Committee of Inquiry submitted its report to Transport Minister, Lui Tuck Yew. A response is expected to be given by the Transport Minister to the COI report at a parliament sitting which held on July 9, 2012. On July 4, 2012, the 358-page COI report made available to the public, cited shortcomings in SMRT's maintenance regime and checks done.

July 7 Disruption
On 7 July 2015, trains along the East-West Line and North-South Line experienced intermittent power surges. This eventually led to the entire suspension of both lines, affecting 413,000 passengers. It was the worst MRT disruption in the history of the MRT.

An investigation by LTA found that SMRT had failed to detect leakages to the underground tunnel between Tanjong Pagar and Raffles Place. This led to mineral deposits on the third rail insulation, causing the power system to trip which led to the disruption of both lines.

Dissatisfaction with public transportation
While Singaporeans began to noticing some issues with the MRT system in terms of overcrowding, the December 2011 disruptions brought the state of public transportation as a whole to national and international prominence. LTA also noted a marked increase in dissatisfaction with public transport with the release of the 2012 Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey, and promised government action to deal with issues relating to MRT and LRT disruptions.

Changes to government policy
The government increased the penalty of train disruptions, and made free travel available for any bus services passing MRT stations affected during any train disruptions. To increase satisfaction with the public transport, the government introduced the Bus Service Enhancement Programme and free morning off-peak travel to the city as interim measures to cope with the demands of the public transport system.

Financial penalties
For the December 2011 disruptions, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) imposed a maximum financial penalty of S$5 million on SMRT (approximately US$1.526 million) for the two train disruptions along the North South Line (NSL) on December 15 and 17, 2011. For the July 2015 disruption, LTA imposed a higher penalty of S$5.4 million on SMRT.