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SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) today said it will fine SMRT $2 million for the MRT breakdowns on December 15 and 17 last year.
The transport operator will be fined $1 million for each of the two disruptions, which affected more than 220,000 commuters over the two days.
According to the Rapid Transit Systems (RTS) Act, a licensed public transport operator can be fined up to $1 million per incident, if the operator fails to comply with the operating performance standards and other regulatory requirements.
In a statement to the media, LTA said its investigations have found that SMRT had failed to meet its licensing obligations for the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL).
"It has failed, among other things, to exercise due diligence and vigilance expected of a public transport operator, and to maintain its network in good and efficient working condition," said a spokesperson.
"In both incidents, SMRT was also found to be in breach of the Operating Performance Standards (OPS) for the NSEWL."
In late December last year, a Committee of Inquiry headed by Chief District Judge of the Subordinate Courts, Judge Tan Siong Thye, was set up to investigate the breakdowns.
After an eight-week inquiry, the COI found, among other issues, that the incidents were preventable.
LTA said in its statement that it agrees with the COI on this.
"LTA's internal investigation on the causes of the incidents is consistent with the findings of that of the Committee of Inquiry's (COI), in particular that the incidents were preventable," it said.
LTA said it also believes there were overall shortcomings in SMRT's maintenance and monitoring regime.
Responding to the fine, SMRT said that the investigations into the incidents have provided it with valuable insights into enhancements needed in their previous maintenance regime which was regularly validated by LTA.
In a separate statement to the media, the operator said, "Since the incidents, SMRT has been implementing various initiatives to prevent recurrence and improve service reliability and incident response in collaboration with LTA.
"SMRT will implement further improvements, and work closely with the LTA to enhance our reliability and service levels for the benefit of our commuters."
LTA said it will consider any representations which the operator may make.
The $2 million will be donated to the Public Transport Fund to help needy families with transport fares.
dassa@sph.com.sg
Photos: 6,500 commuters affected by MRT train breakdowns in Dec
Click on thumbnail to view. (Photos: ST, Stomp, TNP) |
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| For more photos, click here. |
 
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