Major milestone for Montréal métro: 10 billion boardings since system opened (French only)

News

Opened in 1966, the Montréal métro system has chalked up 10 billion boardings. That’s more than the world population!

This high point comes on the heels of an exceptional year in terms of ridership. In 2017, the métro posted a record 260 million boardings, up 4% compared with 2016. The increase may be explained mainly by Montréal’s 375th birthday festivities, enhanced service and the vigorous economy.

The STM thanks its users for their loyalty to public transit. The Montréal métro carries approximately a million passengers a day.

Did you know that...?

  • With 260 million boardings in 2017, the Montréal métro is number three in North America, after New York and Mexico City.
  • The station with the most boardings since the métro opened is McGill, with 550 million. No, it’s not Berri-UQAM, with 498 million boardings!
  • Since 1966, métro trains have covered close to 3 billion vehicle-kilometres, almost 20 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. 
  • During rush hours, 80 métro trains are in simultaneous service on our four lines. With a capacity of approximately 1,000 riders per train, that’s equivalent to over 150 Boeing 747s travelling beneath people’s feet in Montréal!
  • The Montréal métro comprises 71 kilometres of tunnels. If they were laid end to end, the métro would stretch all the way from the Berri-UQAM station to the town of Morin-Heights in the Laurentians!
  • To enable hundreds of thousands of riders to use the métro each day, a veritable army of 2,450 employees are busy in the trains, ticket booths, tunnels, offices and maintenance shops.
  • In 1981, Lisette Renaud became the Montréal métro’s first woman operator. Today, 22% of operators are women, and the number is growing.
  • The Montréal métro is known around the world for the architectural quality of its stations. Inspired by the Moscow and Stockholm subways, the people in charge of construction insisted that each station be different. A number of cities, including Brussels, have drawn on the Montréal métro in designing their subway systems.
  • The métro is also an underground art gallery, with 85 works of art in its 68 stations.
  • For the great benefit of its users, the Montréal métro is part of a select group of subways that offer 4G LTE mobile connectivity in its stations, cars and tunnels.