SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) have outlined a series of measures to improve train service in the country.

SMRT has worked to improve engineering and maintenance regime as well as its emergency response process to boost reliability. The SMRT said that it has improved customer service team to manage large-scale incidents from 190 to 700 in an effort to beef up emergency response. It will also provide training to its officials in incident management including customer service and crowd control.

SMRT will retrofit two trains on the North-South and East-West lines with displacement sensors starting in January in order to detect abnormalities allowing immediate rectification. The system will be able to detect sagging on the third-rail system, which resulted in train-service breakdowns in December 2011.

The new safety systems are in accordance with the recommendations from the Committee of Inquiry, which looked at disruptions and recommended greater focus on preventive maintenance and detection of future problems. The new systems will also prevent break downs on third party systems that are powered by suppliers.

SMRT will also deploy laser technology on maintenance locomotives, track-side cameras to monitor third-rail condition and also install Wheel Impact Load Detection system. The new efforts are aimed at improving safety and reliability of trains.