SMRT to be fined $5.4 million for 7 July disruption

The Land Transport Authority said it intends to fine SMRT $5.4 million for the system-wide disruption on the North-South and East-West lines on 7 July 2015.

Finding SMRT fully responsible for the incident and maintenance lapses, the authority said in a media release on Wednesday (23 Sep) that the fine amount is commensurate with the severity of the disruption and impact on commuters. “MRT’s maintenance lapses resulted in a system-wide disruption on the NSEWL for more than two hours during the evening peak period. This greatly inconvenienced 413,000 commuters travelling on the MRT network’s most heavily-utilised lines,” LTA said.

The fine is the highest to be imposed on an operator since the two disruptions in December 2011, which affected about 221,000 commuters and for which SMRT was fined $2 million.

The 7 July disruption was caused by the tripping of the rail power system at multiple locations by a safety mechanism. Various factors had resulted in weak electrical resistance of one of the third rail insulators between Tanjong Pagar and Raffles Place MRT stations, which in turn activated the safety mechanism.

An ongoing water leak in the tunnel close to the insulator contributed to the weak electrical resistance. The leak, and inadequate maintenance, caused the build-up of extensive mineral deposits on the insulator and trackside equipment. This, together with the wet tunnel environment, greatly reduced the effectiveness of the insulator.

As a result, this led to a higher than normal voltage between the running rail and the ground, and in turn activated the safety mechanism and tripped the power system.

Chew Men Leong, Chief Executive of LTA said, “After a full and comprehensive investigation, LTA concludes that the disruption is due to maintenance lapses by SMRT…We require SMRT to review and improve their maintenance regime to prevent future occurrences.”

LTA has asked SMRT to provide detailed measures to address the authority’s findings. To prevent a similar recurrence, SMRT has started replacing all third rail insulators since the incident, while LTA is also increasing its frequency of maintenance audits on operators.

LTA said the fine will go to the Public Transport Fund to help needy families with their public transport expenses.