Updated: 02/15/2013 05:08 | By Channel NewsAsia

Lack of maintenance not cause of MRT station fire: SMRT CEO

SINGAPORE: SMRT’s CEO Desmond Kuek has ruled out the lack of maintenance as a factor behind Wednesday’s fire in the tunnel at Newton MRT station.

He said: "It is something which we are concerned about and we are looking to see how we can rectify some of these issues and we are working very closely with the authorities to see what further enhancements need to be made on our infrastructure."

SMRT says an electrical short circuit caused a cable to burn. The cable has been sent for forensic tests.

The fire disrupted train services for 15,000 people on the North—South Line for more than two hours.

Mr Kuek said: "We are doing some testing, some forensic testing on the cables to see what exactly is the problem with the material which has caused the kind of deterioration, and also the next few days we are going to revisit our checks again."

— CNA/xq