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singapore
Degraded grease was suspected to have caused friction and overheating in the bearings (left) of the axle box (right).
PHOTO: Land Transport Authority
PUBLISHED ON June 03, 2025 5:00 PM By Khoo Yi-Hang
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Tuesday (June 3) that it intends to impose a $3 million fine on SMRT after train services were disrupted on the East-West line (EWL) in September last year.
On Sep 25, a dislodged axle box caused caused the wheels of an SMRT train carriage plying the EWL to fall off the tracks, damaging the tracks between Dover MRT station and Ulu Pandan Depot.
Services were disrupted for six days following the incident as repair works went on, with full services being resumed in October that year.
During the period where train services were affected, SMRT had provided free bridging bus and regular bus services, as well as shuttle train services at the impacted stations.
Travel fees for passengers alighting at Jurong East and Buona Vista stations were also waived.
These provisions by the SMRT were taken into consideration in determining the $3 million penalty, according to the LTA.
The Authority explained that the quantum also weighed in the fact that SMRT had borne the cost of repairs, bringing SMRT's total expenditure on the incident over $10 million.
Lower-income families will stand to gain from this penalty, as the amount collected will go towards the Public Transport Fund to assist with their public transport expenditure.
For the financial year of 2023/24, SMRT Trains posted earnings before interest and tax of $6.2 million.
"It should be noted that fines are not levied for every single breakdown because statistically... we will have some breakdowns from time to time," he said, explaining that fines are reserved for cases where the disruption to commuters is severe, and where there can be some element of responsibility traced to the operator.
Prof Theseira also stated that he does not expect the fine to have an impact on commuters.
This is because SMRT is "required to uphold the operating standards regulated by LTA", on top of LTA monitoring this situation, he said.
"Thus, one should not expect that SMRT will alter aspects that matter to commuters such as train frequency, reliability... if anything, maintenance has been stepped up on the areas linked to the incident."
Significant wear and tear was placed on the axle bearings as a result, which in turn caused overheating and the eventual failure.
This theory is supported by the burnt rubber and metal pieces found along the train's path, which suggests that the axle box was hot enough to burn the rubber around it, causing the box to dislodge.
SMRT's hot axle box detection system (HABDS) also noted that a box had reached 118 deg C, although an error meant that staff could not determine which box was overheating past its usual range of 30 to 65 degrees Celsius.
However, Covid-19 struck, resulting in a 1 1/2 year delay in the move to Movia and a shortage of materials for repairs.
In a statement on SMRT's Facebook page on Tuesday, the rail operator highlighted the impact of Covid-19 on its plans to receive new trains and spare parts.
"These global disruptions impacted our ability to proceed with the additional overhaul after 2018," SMRT explained.
"We were also managing the lifecycle needs of ageing assets while maintaining daily service delivery for our commuters."
KHI trains are supposed to undergo an overhaul every 500,000km travelled and the train involved in the incident was due for an overhaul in 2018, and 38 trains that passed the 500,000km mark.
Due to the delays and the shortage of materials, however, the overhaul of the said train was pushed further after SMRT noted the fleet's reliability and capabilities.
SMRT then extended the overhaul interval for the incident train on two separate occasions, bringing the limit up to 575,000km in August 2022 and 750,000km in August 2024.
As Movia trains came in from May 2023, KHI trains were gradually replaced and overhauled — by September 2024, 18 had been overhauled excluding the train involved in the incident.
Regular preventive maintenance was conducted by SMRT on the train on Sep 10, 2024, but no abnormalities were detected with its axle box at the time.
An accelerated delivery programme has also been put in place by the LTA for Movia trains to mitigate delays from Covid-19.
Additionally, they are "expediting the testing and commissioning of new trains" and are on track to decommissioning first-generation trains by the end of September, according to SMRT.
SMRT has also consulted LTA to utilise data analytics for earlier detection when it comes to abnormal axle box temperatures, and LTA intends to have greater oversight of operators' asset and maintenance management.
SMRT, LTA, and the National Transport Workers’ Union have also set up a tripartite Rail Safety and Reliability Review Workgroup to review and enhance rail ecosystems and engaged metro operators in Guangzhou and Taipei for mutual learning.
National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU) executive secretary Yeo Wan Ling also acknowledged LTA's findings in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
"We recognise the seriousness of the incident and the critical importance of upholding rigorous maintenance standards to ensure the safety and reliability of our public transport systems," she stated.
She added: "NTWU remains committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to address the issues identified and to implement necessary improvements."
The Ministry of Transport's Committee of Supply 2025 allocated an additional $1 billion to enhance rail asset management and rail workforce capabilities as well, according to the LTA.
singapore
East-West Line disruption: SMRT to be fined $3m for September 2024 incident
Degraded grease was suspected to have caused friction and overheating in the bearings (left) of the axle box (right).
PHOTO: Land Transport Authority
PUBLISHED ON June 03, 2025 5:00 PM By Khoo Yi-Hang
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Tuesday (June 3) that it intends to impose a $3 million fine on SMRT after train services were disrupted on the East-West line (EWL) in September last year.
On Sep 25, a dislodged axle box caused caused the wheels of an SMRT train carriage plying the EWL to fall off the tracks, damaging the tracks between Dover MRT station and Ulu Pandan Depot.
Services were disrupted for six days following the incident as repair works went on, with full services being resumed in October that year.
During the period where train services were affected, SMRT had provided free bridging bus and regular bus services, as well as shuttle train services at the impacted stations.
Travel fees for passengers alighting at Jurong East and Buona Vista stations were also waived.
These provisions by the SMRT were taken into consideration in determining the $3 million penalty, according to the LTA.
The Authority explained that the quantum also weighed in the fact that SMRT had borne the cost of repairs, bringing SMRT's total expenditure on the incident over $10 million.
Lower-income families will stand to gain from this penalty, as the amount collected will go towards the Public Transport Fund to assist with their public transport expenditure.
Fines not expected to impact commuters
Responding to queries from AsiaOne, Singapore University of Social Sciences business school associate professor Walter Theseira said that the fine is a "serious one" as it is equivalent to almost half their profit from trains last year, and train operations are not very profitable.For the financial year of 2023/24, SMRT Trains posted earnings before interest and tax of $6.2 million.
"It should be noted that fines are not levied for every single breakdown because statistically... we will have some breakdowns from time to time," he said, explaining that fines are reserved for cases where the disruption to commuters is severe, and where there can be some element of responsibility traced to the operator.
Prof Theseira also stated that he does not expect the fine to have an impact on commuters.
This is because SMRT is "required to uphold the operating standards regulated by LTA", on top of LTA monitoring this situation, he said.
"Thus, one should not expect that SMRT will alter aspects that matter to commuters such as train frequency, reliability... if anything, maintenance has been stepped up on the areas linked to the incident."
Degraded grease suspected to be cause of failure
Investigations suggest that the cause of the incident stemmed from degraded grease in the axle box, according to the LTA.Significant wear and tear was placed on the axle bearings as a result, which in turn caused overheating and the eventual failure.
This theory is supported by the burnt rubber and metal pieces found along the train's path, which suggests that the axle box was hot enough to burn the rubber around it, causing the box to dislodge.
SMRT's hot axle box detection system (HABDS) also noted that a box had reached 118 deg C, although an error meant that staff could not determine which box was overheating past its usual range of 30 to 65 degrees Celsius.
Delays in maintenance
The train in the incident, part of the first generation of 66 Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) trains, was set to be replaced by the new Movia trains that were supposed to be in SMRT's possession by March 2024.However, Covid-19 struck, resulting in a 1 1/2 year delay in the move to Movia and a shortage of materials for repairs.
In a statement on SMRT's Facebook page on Tuesday, the rail operator highlighted the impact of Covid-19 on its plans to receive new trains and spare parts.
"These global disruptions impacted our ability to proceed with the additional overhaul after 2018," SMRT explained.
"We were also managing the lifecycle needs of ageing assets while maintaining daily service delivery for our commuters."
KHI trains are supposed to undergo an overhaul every 500,000km travelled and the train involved in the incident was due for an overhaul in 2018, and 38 trains that passed the 500,000km mark.
Due to the delays and the shortage of materials, however, the overhaul of the said train was pushed further after SMRT noted the fleet's reliability and capabilities.
SMRT then extended the overhaul interval for the incident train on two separate occasions, bringing the limit up to 575,000km in August 2022 and 750,000km in August 2024.
As Movia trains came in from May 2023, KHI trains were gradually replaced and overhauled — by September 2024, 18 had been overhauled excluding the train involved in the incident.
Regular preventive maintenance was conducted by SMRT on the train on Sep 10, 2024, but no abnormalities were detected with its axle box at the time.
Learning from disaster
Following the incident on the EWL, SMRT withdrew all KHI trains that had exceeded 500,000km of mileage in order for them to undergo an overhaul before they were returned to service.An accelerated delivery programme has also been put in place by the LTA for Movia trains to mitigate delays from Covid-19.
Additionally, they are "expediting the testing and commissioning of new trains" and are on track to decommissioning first-generation trains by the end of September, according to SMRT.
SMRT has also consulted LTA to utilise data analytics for earlier detection when it comes to abnormal axle box temperatures, and LTA intends to have greater oversight of operators' asset and maintenance management.
SMRT, LTA, and the National Transport Workers’ Union have also set up a tripartite Rail Safety and Reliability Review Workgroup to review and enhance rail ecosystems and engaged metro operators in Guangzhou and Taipei for mutual learning.
National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU) executive secretary Yeo Wan Ling also acknowledged LTA's findings in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
"We recognise the seriousness of the incident and the critical importance of upholding rigorous maintenance standards to ensure the safety and reliability of our public transport systems," she stated.
She added: "NTWU remains committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to address the issues identified and to implement necessary improvements."
The Ministry of Transport's Committee of Supply 2025 allocated an additional $1 billion to enhance rail asset management and rail workforce capabilities as well, according to the LTA.
