SMRT Trains Limited was incorporated as the rail subsidiary arm of the parent company SMRT Corporation, to oversee rail operations brought over from the previously state-owned Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC).
The Singapore MRT Limited was incorporated on 6 August 1987, and signed the licence and operating agreement (LOA) with MRTC, a government-run corporation till 1997. On 7 November 1987, MRTC began operations on Singapore's first MRT segment, comprising five stations from Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh. Following the merger of MRTC into the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on 1 September 1995, a statutory board, MRTC's operational functions were transferred to SMRT Corporation, a private company de jure but remained state-owned through Temasek. On 1998, the light rail operation on the Bukit Panjang LRT line was formed and was called Singapore LRT Limited. On 31 December 2001, both Singapore MRT Limited and Singapore LRT Limited were merged into the present name, SMRT Trains.
Transition to New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF)
On 15 July 2016, SMRT Trains and its subsidiary SMRT Light Rail concluded discussions on the transition of the North–South and East–West lines (NSEWL), the Circle Line (CCL) and the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) to the New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF). The framework, announced by the Government in 2008 under the Land Transport Master-plan, was introduced as an enhancement to the 1996 Rail Financing Framework, and was first implemented for the Downtown Line (DTL) under SBS Transit in 2011.[1] SMRT transited to a 15-year contract under the new framework from 1 October 2016, with the transfer of ownership of all its rail assets at a net value of $1.06 billion to the government. With that, the MRT network was semi re-nationalised.[2]
Mass Rapid Transit
SMRT Trains currently operates a fleet consisting of five rolling stocks built on its two heavy rail lines (the North–South Line and the East–West Line) – namely C151A, C151B, C151C and R151, identified by the relevant build contracts. Until 2024, they operated the C651 and C751B fleets which have since been fully phased out. In addition, it operates the C830 and C830C rolling stocks, which operates on the Circle Line. SMRT Trains is also licensed to operate the T251 rolling stocks, which operates on the Thomson–East Coast Line. SMRT Light Rail operates the C801, C801A and C801B rolling stocks on the Bukit Panjang LRT. The C851E will be added to SMRT's fleet in tandem with the opening of the CCL6 line.[3] On 26 September 2025, the last of the C151 has also been retired, with a final commemorative ride held on 28 September 2025 for select members of the public.[4]
The main colour scheme for all trains are black with a red stripe and grey band at the bottom. C651 is the only train model with an exterior livery of white and red stripes. C801 is the only train model with an exterior livery of blue and red stripes. C151B and C801A are the only train models with an exterior livery of the new SMRT pixelated livery, which consist of white, red, black and yellow stripes and pixel livery. C151C and R151 will bear the new LTA livery, which is black with green and red stripes. T251 will also bear the new LTA livery, which is black with burnt sienna and yellow stripes.
The trains are classified as contracts unlike Japan which uses "series" other countries which use "class".
Notable incidents on SMRT lines
Clementi rail accident: On 5 August 1993, before the start of service, a maintenance vehicle spilt oil on the tracks between Clementi and Jurong East. The first ten eastbound trains reported braking problems. Then, at 7.50 am, the eleventh east-bound train from Jurong stopped at the Clementi Station for two minutes longer than scheduled due to it using its emergency brakes to stop at the station, and was then hit by the twelfth east bound train when it failed to stop in time. 156 passengers were injured by the collision.[5]
Pasir Ris rail accident: On 22 March 2016, 2 SMRT staff were killed when a train hit them near Pasir Ris station along the EWL. Following an audit and investigation, the Ministry of Manpower reported that SMRT had failed to follow safety procedures to ensure worker safety for the past 14 years.[6] Former assistant engineer Lim Say Heng pleaded guilty to one charge of causing the deaths of the trainees by failing to observe critical safety protocol and was sentenced to four weeks jail.[7]
Joo Koon rail accident: On 15 November 2017, two C151A trains collided at Joo Koon, injuring 28 people, making the second incident after 24 years on 5 August 1993 when two C151 trains collided at Clementi.
Dover train derailment: On 25 September 2024, one C151 Train had its bogie on the third carriage separated from its running rail at Dover causing extensive damage to track and equipment between Dover and Jurong East stations, including 46 rail breaks over the 1.6km of track and three track switches, and tripping the power supply before stalling outside Ulu Pandan Depot.[8][9][10] There was no service between Jurong East and Buona Vista from 25 September 2024 to 30 September 2024 to allow repairs to be made, which made this one of the longest unplanned MRT disruption in Singapore's history.[10][11] Train services resumed on 1 October 2024 with trains travelling at lower speeds than normal.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
