Joint Exercise by LTA and Public Transport Operators to Ensure Operational Readiness in Managing Rail Incidents
Joint News Release Issued by Land Transport Authority, SBS Transit, and SMRT
24 January 2026 – The Land Transport Authority (LTA) conducted a joint ground deployment exercise with rail operators SBS Transit (SBST) and SMRT at Serangoon MRT station interchange earlier today. Codenamed ‘Exercise GREYHOUND 2026’, the exercise was conducted during engineering hours this morning and plays a key role in our ongoing efforts to maintain a high level of operational readiness in managing major incidents in the public transport network. This is the 11th edition of Exercise GREYHOUND since its inauguration in 2012.
Around 170 personnel from LTA, SBST, SMRT, Singapore Police Force (SPF), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) participated in the exercise which commenced at 12am. The exercise aims to validate the response of both public transport operators during a disruption affecting an interchange station, and their ability to adopt an integrated and coordinated approach to incident management, compounded by a period of planned service adjustment. Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Jeffrey Siow, observed the exercise along with a total of 130 key representatives from Go-Ahead Singapore, Tower Transit Singapore, People’s Association, MINDEF, SPF and SCDF. As part of LTA’s public outreach and education efforts to improve emergency preparedness, observers from the Singapore Institute of Technology were also invited to observe the exercise.
During the exercise, LTA, SBST and SMRT personnel simulated a stalled train in the tunnel between Kovan and Serangoon MRT stations, during a period of planned service disruption where Serangoon MRT station also hosted temporary bus shuttle services. This allowed to test our system’s resilience and readiness during this period of CCL planned service adjustments.
SBST as the primary participating PTO, was tested on NEL's contingency response capabilities and validate rail incident management measures when multiple lines face simultaneous challenges. In response to this scenario, SBST activated its incident management plan, which included the activation of free bridging bus services between affected stations, and deployed staff onsite to direct commuters to the unaffected Circle Line and designated bridging bus points. SMRT also made public announcements on the incident at CCL Serangoon Station, which is an interchange with NEL Serangoon, and deployed staff onsite to assist commuters.
The exercise featured new wayfinding initiatives currently being piloted at Serangoon station. These include digital signs showing the colour-coded status of all rail lines across our network, digital screens providing directions to key points such as station, and guiding lights to lead commuters to free bus bridging points. LTA and the operators also simulated the dissemination of situational updates to commuters through station and in-train announcements. This edition of Exercise Greyhound also involved Transport Ambassadors, who are everyday commuters volunteering under the Caring Commuter Movement and trained to assist fellow passengers during disruptions.
As the exercise coordinator, LTA assessed the public transport operators’ contingency plans in managing the train service disruption, which included their incident reporting and management processes, activation and deployment of bridging bus services, as well as management of affected stations and bus stops. Overall, operators were well prepared and had trained their staff well to handle such scenarios. LTA will conduct a detailed review and share our observations with the operators subsequently, so that key learnings can be incorporated into their train disruption plans.
LTA's Chief Executive Mr Ng Lang said, “Exercise Greyhound 2026 comes at an opportune time as we strengthen our rail reliability measures. It is crucial that we maintain readiness and these comprehensive simulation exercises allow us to validate our incident response protocols while working closely with operators and key agencies such as the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force. This multi-agency coordination is essential to support swift incident recovery and minimise the impact on commuters.”
Mr Jeffrey Sim, Group Chief Executive Officer of SBS Transit, said, “Exercises like Greyhound 2026 hone our staff’s readiness in responding to major service disruptions. This exercise, in particular, was important as we incorporated new measures arising from the Rail Reliability Taskforce’s recommendations. Significantly, it provided a valuable opportunity to test these enhancements in a simulated operating environment. Additionally, we could validate our contingency plans in managing a disruption at a busy interchange station with close coordination on the ground with the Land Transport Authority and fellow transport operators so that we are able to respond swiftly and effectively to minimise inconvenience for our commuters.”
Mr Lam Sheau Kai, President, SMRT Trains said, “We recognise that any service disruption causes significant inconvenience to commuters. This is why exercises such as Greyhound 2026 are so important. They enable our teams to practise how best to support commuters when journeys are interrupted, while reinforcing familiarity with the procedures needed to resolve issues and restore train services promptly. All this is done without compromising the safety of our staff and commuters. Our commitment is to continuous improvement, so that everyone who relies on our network can be assured that we are well prepared for such exigencies.”
Exercise Greyhound is conducted in conjunction with Exercise SG Ready 2026, a Total Defence exercise held to increase Singaporeans’ readiness for crises and disruptions.