The costs associated with a major six-day disruption on the East-West Line (EWL) in September 2024 have weighed on the finances of rail operator SMRT Trains, which posted a 21 per cent decline in earnings and an 8 per cent fall in profit in the most recent financial year.
SMRT said on July 31 that its trains division turned in a $6.9 million profit after tax in the 12 months ending on March 31, 2025, representing a net profit margin of 0.75 per cent.
This is down from $7.5 million in profit after tax for the previous financial year, which translated to a net margin of 0.85 per cent.
SMRT, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore’s investment company Temasek, said revenue from its rail operations rose 4 per cent to $918.2 million in the 2024/2025 financial year, up from $886.7 million before.
This came on the back of higher average fares, which were hiked in December 2024 by 6 per cent, as well as increased ridership on the four MRT lines and one LRT line that it operates.
But revenue growth was negatively impacted by a loss of income due to the EWL breakdown in 2024, which affected one in six train trips daily from Sept 25 to 30 that year.
For the six days of disruption, SMRT Trains provided free travel to passengers alighting at Jurong East and Buona Vista stations.
The rail operator was also hit by the expenses it incurred in providing free bridging bus and shuttle services, as well as repairing extensive damage caused to 2.55km of track and trackside equipment.
It was reported that the total cost borne by SMRT exceeded $10 million. This includes the $2.4 million fine that was levied by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) as a penalty for the service disruption.
The Straits Times
