SMRT hit with $5.4m fine for infamous July rail breakdown

This is the highest fine in its history.

SMRT has been hit with a $5.4m fine for maintenance lapses that resulted in a system-wide disruption on the NSEWL for more than two hours during the evening peak period on July 7.

The Land Transport Authority said that it finds SMRT fully responsible for the incident.

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.

This is the highest financial penalty 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 fine will go to the Public Transport Fund to help needy families with their public transport expenditures.