Amid a series of recent MRT and LRT disruptions, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow has drawn criticism for remarks made in a Facebook post on 6 August, in which he described the incidents as “disappointing” but stated that train delays “cannot be eliminated entirely”.
While acknowledging the frustration of commuters, Siow said that “One Transport family” would continue working to strengthen the rail system.
However, some netizens expressed disappointment that his focus appeared to be on communication rather than on addressing the root causes of recurring faults.
Many questioned whether this deflected attention away from tackling the reliability of the system itself.
Calls for greater transparency, clearer benchmarks, and detailed plans to restore public confidence have grown louder in the wake of the latest disruptions.
Jeffrey Siow calls recent Singapore rail disruptions “disappointing”, vows system improvements
The comments came after a major breakdown on the East-West Line on the morning of 6 August, which lasted five hours during peak travel time and severely affected thousands of commuters.
The incident added to mounting public frustration following a string of faults in recent months.
“I understand commuters’ frustration whenever there is a delay or disruption in train service, because it messes up your day and throws off your plans,” Siow wrote in his post.
“Train delays cannot be eliminated entirely and will happen from time to time,” he added, emphasising that information sharing during such incidents could be improved to help commuters find alternative routes.
Public questions focus on announcements as calls grow for reliability benchmarks and transparency
While some acknowledged the challenges of managing a heavily used rail system, many were unsatisfied with what they saw as a vague and inadequate response.
On social media platforms such as CNA’s and The Straits Times’ Facebook pages, as well as Reddit, users questioned whether focusing on announcements was a distraction from solving long-standing faults.
One commenter remarked, “We don’t turn up for work late and tell our bosses it’s because the announcements weren’t clear, so we’re late. Get the priorities right.”
Others pointed out that while it is generally understood that no system can be completely faultless, recurring issues—particularly those related to signalling—should not be accepted as the norm.
“If this happens two or three times a month, and the fault is always the same signal issue, then something is not right,” one post said.
“Can this issue be resolved? If not, the public deserves a better explanation.”
Several users noted comparisons with other developed countries.
“Japan has similar breakdowns, but their incident recovery times are so much faster. Their downtimes are measured in minutes, not hours,” a comment wrote.
Netizens urge shift from messaging to action amid calls for clear targets and accountability
A common sentiment across discussions was the need for clear reliability targets and transparency over what level of disruption is considered acceptable.
Some raised concerns that frequent, prolonged faults—even if statistically infrequent—undermine confidence and raise difficult questions about trade-offs between better service, rising operational costs, and potential fare increases.
One pointed out that effective communication should be a given, not the focus. The netizen highlighted that Singaporeans need competent leadership to deliver long-term solutions. Clear targets, data transparency, and actionable plans—not just vague statements about doing better.
“Promise not enough”: Leong Mun Wai urges Jeffrey Siow to probe into systemic issues behind MRT breakdowns
Leong Mun Wai, former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament and Secretary-General of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), also weighed in on the matter.
In a Facebook post on 7 August, he urged Siow to investigate whether deeper systemic or cultural issues exist within Singapore’s public transport operators.
“A promise that the public transport industry can and will do better is not enough,” Leong said.
He referred to his earlier parliamentary exchange in February 2025 with then Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, during which he had asked whether the government would convene a Committee of Inquiry (COI) after three MRT delays occurred in less than a week.
At that time, Chee rejected the proposal for a COI.
He reiterated the government’s stance from October 2024, stating that the Land Transport Authority, as the regulator, is fully empowered to conduct independent investigations.
Chee further assured Parliament that LTA’s findings from the East-West Line’s September 2024 six-day breakdown would be made public upon completion.
He also argued that the February incidents were isolated and not indicative of systemic faults within SMRT or SBS Transit.
Fresh disruptions make government’s rejection of COI ‘less convincing’
Leong on 7 August questioned this explanation, stating that the subsequent spate of breakdowns makes the government’s position less convincing.
In addition to the 6 August disruption, the Thomson-East Coast Line also suffered a one-hour service delay due to a signalling fault on 1 July.
Furthermore, two separate power faults in July led to full suspensions of the Bukit Panjang LRT service.
“These multiple incidents raise concerns about deeper issues,” Leong said.
“I urge the new Acting Minister to reconsider the government’s position and investigate whether there are systemic or cultural issues contributing to these repeated breakdowns.”
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