SG: LTA to fine SMRT $5.4 million for island-wide system disruption

The LTA has plans to fine SMRT $5.4 million for the system-wide disruption on the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) on 7 July 2015. The disruption, which was caused by intermittent tripping of the rail power system at multiple locations by a built-in safety mechanism, was triggered by an ongoing water leak in the tunnel close to the insulator. The leak and inadequate maintenance has caused extensive mineral deposits on the insulator and trackside equipment, which let electricity flow from the insulator to the ground, triggering the activation of the safety mechanism. Despite knowing about the seepage, SMRT failed to rectify the issue, leading to a failure that greatly inconvenienced 413,000 commuters travelling on the MRT network’s most heavily-utilised lines. Given the severity of the disruption and impact on commuters, LTA intends to penalise SMRT a total of $5.4 million under Section 19 of the Rapid Transit Systems Act, easily the highest financial penalty imposed on an operator since the two disruptions in December 2011. Pictures used for illustration purposes only.