Lately, it seems like whatever can go wrong with the MRT system has gone wrong.

And then some.

For example, as breakdowns and delays become normalised, the Bishan MRT station flooded and service was halted for almost 20 hours and this was due to maintenance works not having been carried out properly since last year, with the possibility that records of maintenance were falsified.

Needless to say, it is a cause of frustration for paying commuters.

But if you're too poor to take a taxi every day or buy a car, and you have to dig deep as you appeal to the most charitable part in you, here's what can be said to continue to keep the faith in our MRT system.

Affordable fares

Believe it or not, train fares in Singapore have been among the lowest in the world.

Singaporeans pay just S$1.33 for a 10km train journey -- the sixth lowest in a comparison of 36 major cities.

From Dec. 29, 2017, to encourage behavioural changes, pre-peak commuters who take the train before 7.45am can spend up to 50 cents less, as part of a new initiative by the Public Transport Council (PTC).

There is always a contingency plan

Train breakdowns are no doubt a big inconvenience, especially when it happens almost every time when you're rushing to work.

But with every breakdown, there is a guaranteed alternative for affected commuters.

For example, bus bridging services are always provided whenever a major breakdown happens.

Such situations somehow manage to bring the community together, like The Alternate Transport Advisory & Singapore Magnificent Rescue Team (TATA SMRT) Facebook page, a support group whose members sometimes offer free car rides in times of need.

And if you're lucky, surge prices on private-hire cars could be suspended so you don't have to pay an exorbitant amount to reach your destination.

Clean trains

Something we might all take for granted is the cleanliness of our trains because we're very used to it.

Aside from the occasional oily scalp stains on train windows or stink bombs from a fellow commuter, our trains are relatively clean and odourless.

Proven so by tourists:

At least it doesn't reek of urine or scattered with litter.

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Occasional entertainment

Most times, a train ride is pretty uneventful.

But sometimes, you get to witness bizarre antics like this:

When your jam comes on pic.twitter.com/rAmWvToYHv

— Mothership.sg (@MothershipSG) October 30, 2017

Or get a bit of a laugh from scuttling seafood:

Ever-expanding network

For a long period of time, Singapore only had two main lines: North South and East West.

These days, Singapore is being served by multiple crisscrossing lines as more redundancy is built in.

Previously hard to reach places such as the National Stadium and Haw Par Villa now have their own MRT stations.

And with more lines coming up, any future breakdowns will be more localised as commuters can rely on other lines to get to their destinations.

This sort of workaround is not ideal, but it is vastly superior to only having to live with the NS and EW lines.

Like how a lot of Singaporeans did for the longest time.

But that was at a time train breakdowns were unheard of.

I suppose that is life.