The Land Transport Authority-SMRT joint team, which was set up to look into how to reduce disruptions and increase the reliability of the train lines, plans to reduce the number of train service withdrawals normalised by distance by 30 per cent by 2013.
These improvements are part of the initial recommendations of the team to enhance the reliability of the rail network.
A spokesman for the team said that it had observed "an upward trend of shorter delays lasting less than 10 minutes", because of trains being withdrawn from service on the four lines - North, South, East and West. This was a result of ageing assets and increased train runs.
As a result, commuters have been inconvenienced and the impact is more widely felt when such withdrawals occur during the peak period.
-- ST