SMRT Trains posts $86 million FY2018 loss amid lower ridership, higher operating expenses
SMRT Trains has posted an $86 million after-tax loss for its 2018 financial year amid lower ridership and higher operating expenses.
This was a reversal from a net profit of $26 million in the previous financial year, according to SMRT’s latest Operations Review.
Total revenue for the year ended 31 March fell 6.1 per cent to $743 million, down from $791 million in the previous year.
The operator also recorded higher operating expenses due to higher maintenance costs and loss from asset disposal. Operating expenses rose 6.8 per cent to $838 million from $785 million previously.
The company saw mixed results in the area of rail reliability.
The North-South Line (NSL), which experienced several breakdowns last year including a severe flooding in the Bishan tunnel in October, saw its mean kilometres between failure (MKBF) measurement for the recent financial year drop to 97,000km – nearly half that from the previous year.
The Circle Line clocked an MKBF of 665,000km, more than doubled from the previous report. The East-West Line (EWL) also saw an improvement, with MKBF rising to 171,000km from 151,400km.
SMRT Trains measures the number of kilometres clocked before incurring a single delay lasting more than five minutes. An increase in the MBKF equates to an improvement in rail reliability.
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