SINGAPORE: Rail operator SMRT will pay a reduced fine of S$2.4 million for a major six-day disruption on the East-West Line in September 2024.
This figure was announced by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a statement on 25 July 2025.
The revised amount is lower than the S$3 million financial penalty that LTA initially intended to impose when it released investigation findings in June.
Penalty to support Public Transport Fund
According to LTA, the S$2.4 million fine will be channelled to the Public Transport Fund.
The fund aims to help lower-income families manage their daily public transport expenses.
In addition to the financial penalty, LTA has directed SMRT to invest at least S$600,000 to strengthen its capabilities.
This investment is intended to address areas of improvement identified during investigations into the disruption.
Challenges during train overhaul regime
Explaining its decision to lower the fine, LTA acknowledged the challenges SMRT faced during its overhaul of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) trains.
These challenges included difficulties in securing spare parts due to global supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The authority said that these factors were taken into account when reviewing SMRT’s representations.
Strengthening technical capabilities
In a Facebook post following LTA’s announcement, SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai stated that the operator will enhance its direct engagement with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of trains and related systems.
Lam also noted that SMRT plans to deepen its technical and engineering expertise by collaborating more closely with OEMs.
As part of efforts to meet LTA’s directive, Lam said SMRT will continue supporting the secondment of LTA engineers to SMRT.
This initiative, started in 2018, is intended to build in-house engineering know-how.
SMRT will also work with LTA and Alstom, the manufacturer of the new R151 trains for the East-West Line, to roll out the new fleet progressively.
Background to the penalty decision
LTA first notified SMRT of its intention to impose a S$3 million penalty on 30 May 2025, citing serious lapses in maintenance practices and system response.
The operator was given two weeks to submit representations, which it did on 6 June 2025.
LTA stated that Singapore’s rail system remains one of the most reliable worldwide. Since 2019, the mean kilometres between failure of the MRT network has stayed above one million train-km.
This means that, on average, MRT trains travel over a million kilometres before encountering a delay of more than five minutes.
One of the highest fines to date
The revised S$2.4 million fine is the second-highest penalty ever levied on a rail operator in Singapore.
The largest was the S$5.4 million fine that SMRT incurred in July 2015 for a disruption that paralysed both the North-South and East-West Lines for over two hours during the evening peak.
In June, LTA described the initial S$3 million fine as “proportionate” to the circumstances of the September 2024 incident.
The disruption affected train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations and impacted around one in six daily train trips.
Extent of the disruption
The six-day disruption affected nine stations between Boon Lay and Queenstown. Normal service resumed only on 1 October 2024.
Approximately 500,000 of Singapore’s 2.8 million daily MRT journeys were affected each day during the incident.
Investigations found that degraded grease was the likely cause of the disruption.
A faulty component of a first-generation KHI train’s undercarriage detached on the morning of 25 September 2024.
The detached component, known as an axle box, holds the train’s wheels to the axle.
It fell out near Dover station while the train was being moved to Ulu Pandan Depot for withdrawal from service.
Derailment caused extensive damage
The dislodged axle box caused one of the train’s 12 bogies to derail. Despite this, the six-car train continued travelling as its remaining bogies stayed on the rails.
However, the derailed bogie of the third carriage caused severe damage to 2.55km of track.
It also damaged trackside equipment, including power cables and the third rail, which supplies electricity to trains.
In addition to repair costs, SMRT bore expenses for providing free bus and shuttle train services for affected commuters during the six-day period.
The financial penalty takes into account these costs as well as the operator’s efforts to address the root cause of the failure.
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