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RAIL operator SMRT Corp is appealing against a $387,176 fine imposed on it for a seven-hour delay that affected over 57,000 rush-hour commuters in January.
It is basing its appeal on the efforts it had made to mitigate the service disruption.
SMRT said on Thursday that it has written to the Land Transport Authority to ask it to reconsider the penalty, which it claimed was 'the maximum' for the extent of the delay.
It said that under its operating agreement, 'there is a provision for the LTA to moderate the penalty amount' by considering the mitigating actions taken by the operator.
The public-listed operator, whose main shareholder is Temasek Holdings, pointed out that it had provided free bus services, and mobilised more than 300 employees 'to carry out on-site recovery, crowd management, dissemination of information, and preparation for resumption of service.'
But affected commuters complained that queues for the buses were long, some drivers were unfamiliar with the route, and that they were not updated about the incident.
In meting out the penalty, the LTA said the disruption on the morning of Jan 21 was caused by a 'breach of operating procedures'.
It happened because SMRT workers failed to engage the parking brake of one portion of a maintenance train. This caused the train to roll back when its primary brakes failed.
It slammed into its locomotive, shutting the track between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris stations.
The preventable accident could have had serious or even fatal results if workers were in the way of the service vehicles.
Service resumed after the damaged trains were removed.
An SMRT spokesman said on Thursday that the company was not expecting a total waiver of the fine, but a lighter penalty in light of the measures it took to help minimise the impact of the disruption.
The LTA said it has received SMRT's letter, and 'will be reviewing the merit of the appeal'.
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