FAQs

No, it is not permitted. In 1987, the Rapid Transit Systems (RTS) Act was established by Parliament and it was declared that no food or drink was to be consumed in MRT trains and stations. If you do, you will be issued a notification of offence which carries a fine of up to $500.

To read the Rapid Transit Systems Act, click here

Drinking plain water, or any beverage for that matter, is not permitted because the beverage could spill and wet seats, soil other commuters’ belongings or cause a fellow commuter to slip and fall. Help us prevent any accidents in the network and maintain a clean environment, so that it would be a pleasant ride for all.

You may breastfeed on our trains and buses, and in our stations and interchanges. Nursing mothers who prefer privacy may approach our staff at the Passenger Service Centre (PSC) for assistance.

Dedicated nursing rooms are available at the following interchanges:

1. Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange

2. Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange

3. Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub

It’s best to take them before entering the MRT station. However, we can make special arrangements for you to consume your medication within our station premises. Please approach our station staff for assistance.

Under RTS Regulations, you will be issued a Notification of Offence by our station staff. In the following days, you will receive a Notice of Offence by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to compound or settle your fine.

Yes, you can. LTA reviews and approves all appeals. You may contact them through the following channels: 

Hotline: 1800-CALL LTA (1800-2255 582)

Fax: 6553 5328/9

Online contact Form: https://www.lta.gov.sg/feedback

Address: Land Transport Authority, 10 Sin Ming Drive, Singapore 575701

Yes, if it is for personal use and all photographs and/or videos are taken at public access areas for non-commercial purposes.

If you are using the photographs and/or videos for commercial or any other purposes such as academic projects, media productions or wedding photoshoots, please obtain our written consent before proceeding with your photography and/or filming.

You may send your request to customer_relations@smrt.com.sg, indicating clearly the date and time, specific venue, purpose of your filming or photography session, duration, size of crew and list of equipment involved. You should also provide a synopsis, script and storyboard for approval. A minimum of fifteen (15) working days is required to review your request to carrying filming or photography. This includes facilitating necessary clearances with the departments and authorities before we are able to assist with arrangements for the filming or photography session.

SMRT can refuse permission to film or photograph in our network without providing specific reasons, but we will normally offer advice on how your script can be worked to obtain approvals. There may be fees imposed on filming or photography of a personal/ commercial/ trade nature. 

Filming and photography can be done only on weekdays, excluding Public Holidays, and between 10am and 4pm.

It must not cause inconvenience and/or danger to all SMRT staff and passengers, or hinder passenger movement within SMRT premises. 

In the event of any dispute, decisions and actions taken by our station and security staff shall be final.

The temperature is set at 24⁰C +/- 2⁰C for the NSEWL, CCL and TEL, and 21.1⁰C  +/- 2⁰C for BPLRT. As we adopt eco-friendly practices whenever possible, we ensure the temperature we set strikes an optimal balance between your comfort and energy efficiency.

The air-conditioning is controlled by thermostats that regulate and control the temperature in each train car. However, external factors such as longer stops at stations for passengers to board and alight, may result in hot air entering the vehicles. Higher passenger load during peak hours can also lead to warmer conditions. When this happens, it will take longer for the space to cool down and for the temperature to return to the desired level.

No. The temperatures are pre-set.

Once every three weeks and once every six months for trains. The former focuses on general preventive maintenance comprising functional and visual checks of the aircon system, while the latter consists of detailed checks on aircon components.

Note down the train car number (it’s the four-digit number near the gangway between cars), date and time, and inform our station staff. You may also reach us through our SMRT SNAP-REP (Snap and Report) WhatsApp service or drop us a line with details of the faulty aircon.

From 1 June 2017, commuters can continue to carry personal mobility devices (PMDs) and foldable bicycles on board public transport at all hours of the day.

There will be visual aids at train stations to help commuters gauge if their devices fit the size limit.

Note: Station staff may not allow foldable bicycles on board if a situation does not permit them to be admitted safely and without inconveniencing other commuters.

Please refer to LTA’s announcement for more information. 

Commuters who wish to bring their PMDs/foldable bicycles on trains can refer to LTA for more information.

Note that PMDs/foldable bicycles should be carried in an upright position.

This is to prevent the devices from being a tripping hazard for other commuters.

Yes, you are allowed to push your PMD/bicycle in the train stations if it remains folded.

Track maintenance is an important aspect of SMRT’s rail operations, and it is done daily to ensure commuters can enjoy a safe and comfortable ride in our network. 

In the last few years, we have significantly increased the number of train trips to meet commuters’ demand for higher train frequency. This also means we have to step up track maintenance activities.

However, we assure residents living in affected vicinities that every effort is made to minimise inconvenience. 

To check if there are track maintenance activities in your district this week, please click here for the latest schedule. 

 SMRT’s MRT network consists of 257.8km of tracks, covering the North-South, East-West (NSEW) and Circle lines. About 74 per cent of tracks on the NSEW lines are above ground level, which means there is noise involved in maintenance works due to heavy machinery used. 

Tracks can only be maintained after passenger service hours. Any maintenance during passenger service hours will disrupt service and inconvenience commuters. When the train network closes, our maintenance staff have less than four hours (between 1am and 4.30am) to complete these works. 

Activities such as rail grinding and rail replacement involve heavy machinery, hammering, cutting and/or joining rails with use of a generator to provide power. Occasionally, we employ a Tunnel Ventilation Fan to provide ventilation for tunnel work. All these activities can cause considerable noise.

We do a couple of things, mostly in preventive maintenance. In wheel profiling, we grind the wheels daily to maintain an even roundness and diameter for each wheel to allow the trains to travel smoothly and with less noise. Train wheels are also mounted with sound absorbers to reduce screeching sounds.

One of the biggest contributors of track noise is uneven track surface. To rectify this, we use a Rail Grinding Vehicle to grind track surface for smoother and less noisy train operations. Typically, a section of a track is ground every six to 12 months.

A Rail Grinding Vehicle grinds track surface and helps reduce noise from train operations

Our maintenance staff inspects the tracks daily to check for track defects.

Track defects can also lead to noise, so our staff inspects the tracks everyday. To do this more efficiently, we invested in a high-tech automatic track inspection system called Rail Vision, which allows us to continuously monitor track conditions, even during train operating hours.

Yes. SMRT has worked with the Land Transport Authority to establish a monitoring system to measure the noise generated by trains at selected locations close to major residential estates. The measurements are taken every three months. With the results, we can identify locations where the noise levels are close to the guidelines set, and prioritise preventive maintenance works at these locations to ensure these guidelines are not breached.

Immediately after track grinding, the initial noise level will be louder as it takes a while for the new grinding marks on the track surface to smoothen out. To reduce inconvenience to residents, track grinding works in both directions along the affected particular sections are completed within a couple of days with minimal time lapse.

To address railway noise, the Land Transport Authority has embarked on a noise measurement study along the entire length of all elevated MRT tracks island-wide, which will cover more than 500 blocks of flats located close to elevated viaducts or turnouts.