Kick-off
- 4.30pm-5.00pmArrival & Registration
- 5.00pm-5.30pmWelcome Address & brief
- 5.30pm-6.00pmKahoot community quiz
- 6.00pm-6.45pmDinner
- 6.45pm-7.45pmGoogle Cloud AI workshop
- 7.45pm-10.00pmHack development & networking bingo
HACKATHON DETAILS
Innovate.Collaborate.Impact.
Kick off a Friday evening with us innovating solutions for the future of mobility. Collaborate with fellow students and tap on industry experts' knowledge to create impactful solutions. Gain invaluable experience solving real-world problems and stand a chance to win exciting prizes.
Dates
18-20 Sep 2026
Friday 5pm to Sunday 5pm
Eligibility
Singapore university and polytechnic students
Teams of 3-4
Photo booth
Briefings, builds, demos, and the teams behind them.
THE LIVING RAILWAY
Singapore's rail network moves millions every day. Now its time to build intelligence for the future of railway.
The people who keep the network running are embracing new opportunities as they manage an evolving railway. With ageing assets, a changing workforce, and limited maintenance windows, we are building a smarter network that can sense, predict, and manage itself, creating a more reliable and resilient railway for the future.
This September, we are inviting students to join us in building the railway of the future!
PRIZE POOL
Build great. Win big.
Stand to win exciting cash prizes and exclusive internship opportunities.
2ND PLACE
$3,000
Runner-up
1ST PLACE
$5,000
Champion
3RD PLACE
$2,000
Third Place
Finalists Prize
4TH–10TH PLACE
$600
each · 7 teams
SPECIAL CATEGORIES · $200 EACH
$200
Most Unique
Out of the box solutions pushing boundaries
$200
Best Aesthetics
Best UI/UX design considering user experience
$200
Most Popular
Crowd favourite, public voting through Devpost
PROBLEM TRACKS
Choose your track
Pick the problem statement which intrigues you the most and come up with a hack for it. Real problems, scoped by the engineers who run the network.
01
PROBLEM STATEMENT 01
Smarter planning
better outcomes
THE PROBLEM
Scheduling riddle with conflicting requests
Our assets needs constant maintenance, upgrades and renewals which are all squeezed into short engineering hours when services pause, flooding schedulers with competing track requests. Juggling sector availability, work compatibility and engineer availability, conflicts are common and resolving them means tedious meetings and manual coordination.
YOUR MISSION
Build the tool that automates scheduling
THE CHALLENGE
Build a tool that automatically detects conflicts between maintenance requests, flags them clearly, suggests alternatives and automates the scheduling process.
POSSIBLE DATASETS
MRT stations locations API
Key Considerations for Planning
02
PROBLEM STATEMENT 02
Smarter decisions.
Smoother Journeys
THE PROBLEM
Moving Millions Seamlessly.
LTA’s network moves millions of commuters daily. Keeping a transit system of this scale running smoothly requires constant, real-time coordination to prevent bottlenecks before they occur. Managing passenger surges, varying train frequencies, and shifting commuter flows requires intelligent, data-driven decisions every single minute.
YOUR MISSION
Build the system that powers commuters
THE CHALLENGE
Build a smart commuter companion app that delivers proactive decision support during planned and unplanned events, tailored to commuters' needs.
POSSIBLE DATASETS
Public MRT service alerts
Bus service data for alternate routing
Real-time train arrivals and service data
Rail station GeoJson
03
PROBLEM STATEMENT 03
A living railway
whispers secrets about our trains
THE OPPORTUNITY
Every train is already telling us what it needs.
Modern rail networks are massive, interconnected digital ecosystems. Every single second, thousands of subsystems; from smart doors and braking relays to bogie temperature sensors stream rich, high-velocity telemetry data. Hidden inside this massive sea of data are the subtle, early signatures of wear and tear. Data combined with intelligence is powerful. With that power, we can achieve proactive precision—ensuring that maintenance teams can intervene early.
YOUR MISSION
Build the solution that turns hidden risks into timely interventions
THE CHALLENGE
Build a tool embedded with models (AI/ML) to detect anomalies amidst the signals from various train systems. Identify the best models to be used to detect future anomalies.
POSSIBLE DATASETS
Train door data
Bogie data
Manually verified fault data
THE ROUTE
Three days, end to end.
Full event schedule across kick-off, build time, judging, finalist presentations, and closing.
Submission and Judging
- 11.30am-12.30pmLunch
- 4.00pmSubmission of hacks
- 4.30pm-10.00pmJudging and selection of top 10 teams
Finals and Closing
- 9.30am-10.00amAnnouncement of top 10 finalists
- 11.00am-11.30amRecruitment talk
- 11.30am-12.30pmLunch
- 1.00pm-3.15pmFinalist presentations
- 3.15pm-4.15pmJudges deliberation
- 4.15pm-5.15pmAward presentation and Closing ceremony
Champion and runner-ups will receive awards on NEBULA X Day by GOH.
EXCLUSIVE SITE VISITS
Step inside the rail network.
Behind the scene previews of tunnels, trains, and operations never before seen by the public. Exclusive to registered hackathon teams
KEY DATES
Mark your calendar.
July-October 2026
September 2026
Hover or focus a highlighted date for the short brief.
HIGHLIGHTED DATES
10
JUL
Registration Opens
Register interest and start forming your team
17:00 SGT
01
AUG
Registration Closes
Last day to register for NEBULA X Hackathon
23:59 SGT
28
AUG
Visit · CRL Tunnel
Behind-the-scenes look at the Cross Island Line tunnel works
SITE VISIT
02&09
SEP
Workshop · Ideas Worth Breaking Things For
Where Ideas Take Form · with NUS College of Design and Engineering
WORKSHOP
10
SEP
Visit · Singapore Rail Test Centre
Tour the national facility for testing next-generation rail systems
SITE VISIT
11
SEP
Visit · SMRT Depot
See train maintenance and depot operations up close with SMRT
SITE VISIT
12&16
SEP
Workshop · UI/UX Design in the Age of AI
With NUS College of Design and Engineering
WORKSHOP
16
SEP
Visit · LTOC
SBST & LTA RDG sharing at the Land Transport Operations Centre
SITE VISIT
18
SEP
Workshop · AI Services on Google Cloud
Hands-on workshop with Google Cloud during Day 1 kick-off
WORKSHOP
18
SEP
Hackathon Kick-off
Registration · welcome address · Kahoot · dinner · hacking begins
16:30 SGT
19
SEP
Submission & Judging
Project submission due at 16:00, then judging and top 10 selection
16:00 SGT
20
SEP
Day 3 Finals & Closing
Finalists announced, presentations begin, then closing ceremony and awards
10:00 SGT
FROM THE PLATFORM
Moments from the line.
Photos and clips from the build. Tap any frame to open it full-size — the gallery fills up live across the weekend.
PARTNERS & ORGANISERS
MAIN ORGANISER
Land Transport Authority
LTA Rail Digitalisation & Guild conceived and runs NEBULA X — providing the real engineering problems, domain mentors, judging panel, and prize pool.
SUPPORTED BY
Who can join?
Any student currently enrolled in Singapore universities or polytechnics. Join in teams of either 3–4
How do I register a team?
Hit "Register Interest" and fill in the form. Registration opens 10 Jul and closes 1 Aug 2359hrs.
Do I need a team before I sign up?
Yes. You must have a team of at least 3 or at most 4 members to register.
What should we bring?
Your laptop, charger and any hardware your project needs
Is there a cost to enter?
It's free! Selected meals are on us — just show up ready to build.
How are teams judged?
A panel of railway professionals and industry partners will be judging your submissions; scoring technical execution, problem fit, ease of use and real-world impact.
What if I've never hacked before?
NEBULA X is built for first-timers too. Domain mentors from LTA and industry partners are on-site to help with ideation and provide valuable contextual knowledge.
How do I register for the site visits
A form to indicate your interest will be shared with shortlisted teams for the hackathon.
REGISTRATION CLOSED
Thank you for boarding with us.
Thank you for your overwhelming interest in the NEBULA X Hackathon! Registration has officially closed. Our team is currently reviewing applications, and shortlisted teams will be notified via email. Stay tuned for further updates!
Questions? · LTA_Nebula_X@lta.gov.sg