SMRT to pay fine of S$2.4 million for 2024 EWL disruption instead of proposed S$3 million

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has imposed a S$2.4 million fine on SMRT for the 6-day train disruption on the East-West line in September 2024.

This amount is S$600,000 less than the S$3 million penalty that LTA proposed on May 30, after concluding its investigations into what became one of the worst disruptions to the MRT system to date.

In a statement on Jul. 25, the agency said it reached this decision after reviewing the representations that SMRT submitted to appeal the penalty.

LTA took into account "the considerable challenges SMRT had faced in planning and executing their overhaul regime for the Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) trains, particularly in procuring the necessary spare parts for the overhaul due to global supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic".

LTA found that that the service disruption was caused by a mechanical failure in the incident train, which was a first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train meant to be overhauled in March 2024, but was delayed by the pandemic.

The fine will go to the Public Transport Fund to help lower-income families with their public transport expenditures.

LTA also instructed SMRT to invest at least S$600,000 to strengthen its capabilities, and address areas of improvement from the incident to improve service reliability for commuters.

"Singapore’s rail system continues to be one of the most reliable rail systems in the world," LTA added.

SMRT's response

Shortly after LTA's statement was released, SMRT Trains President Lam Sheau Kai responded through a post made on the SMRT Facebook page.

He reiterated the challenges to the KHI trains that LTA mentioned, and said, "Had the pandemic not occurred, all KHI trains would have been replaced by the new R151 trains as planned, and the incident might have been prevented."

To make improvements looking ahead, he highlighted that SMRT will enhance collaboration with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of its trains and systems to deepen its technical and engineering expertise.

The KHI trains will be fully phased out by September 2025, Lam added. SMRT will work to progressively roll out the new fleet of R151 trains, the latest seventh-generation MRT trains.

As of Jun. 29, 61 of the R151 trains have entered service, will the renewal expected to be complete by 2026, The Straits Times reported.

Top images from SMRT's Facebook