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LTA to fine SMRT, SBS Transit S$1.65 million for disruptions

Investigations into three MRT service disruptions that occurred earlier this month showed that two were caused by human error, SMRT said on Tuesday.

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Monday it will slap S$1.6 million in fines on train operator SMRT for four train service disruptions that occurred between October last year and May this year.
 
In a statement, the LTA said it found that SMRT had failed to comply with established procedures and processes in the incidents, noting that they were all “fully preventable if the operators had exercised due diligence and vigilance when carrying out their duties”.
 
It will also fine SBS Transit, which runs the North East Line (NEL), $50,000 for a disruption in March this year that was traced to a staff error during maintenance work at Potong Pasir station.
 
SBS was not fined for a disruption in April that was caused by a helium balloon accidentally released into the station by a passenger, said the LTA.
 
For SMRT’s disruptions, one that occurred on 9 October 2013 and another on 22 January this year happened, because in each case a train passed a red signal light, damaging the connection between two track pieces.
 
In a third incident, which took place on 20 January on the North-South Line, two circuit breakers on a train were not closed after SMRT maintenance crew conducted a routine nightly check, resulting in the train’s battery draining out and the train stalling between Yio Chu Kang and Ang Mo Kio stations.
 
SMRT staff were also found responsible for not removing a short circuiting clamp that was installed for sleeper replacement works on the morning of 2 May this year, causing a disruption for northbound train service between Yio Chu Kang and Yishun from a traction power fault.
 
Responding to news of the fine, SMRT’s vice president for corporate information and communications Patrick Nathan said the operator acknowledges the financial penalties and views the incidents they are being fined for “seriously”.
 
He also shared various improvements that SMRT has made, such as stepping up ground inspections and strengthening radio protocol for instructions received by train captains.
 
“SMRT views safety and reliability to be of paramount importance, and this is even more pertinent during this period when intensive renewal works are ongoing even as operational service continues in meeting heightened commuter demands,” he said.
 
The LTA has also said it has tightened its regulatory oversight on both operators’ staff training, adding that it will carry out audits and checks on their processes.
 
Separately, it also shared that the North-East and Circle Lines have improved between last year and the first half of this year, in terms of the number of service delays lasting more than five minutes, seeing falls from 1.05 to 0.23 incidents per 100,000km for the NEL and 0.85 to 0.8 for the Circle Line.
 
The compass lines, however, saw an increase in incidents of service delays between last year and the first half of this year, rising from 1.3 incidents per 100,000km to 1.54 in the second quarter of this year.
 
The maximum fines applicable for every incident of delay that occurred before 25 March this year is $1 million, while subsequent incidents can be fined up to the same amount or 10 per cent of the operator’s annual fare revenue of the given rail line, whichever is higher.
 
LTA says it will be donating the $1.65 million in fines collected from SMRT and SBS Transit to the Public Transport Fund, which will go toward helping needy families with their transport fares.