According to international benchmarking from the Imperial College London The Montréal métro is the most productive in the world

Press release


 

According to international benchmarking from the
Imperial College London
The Montréal métro is the most productive in the world


Montréal, November 25, 2009
With the release of the annual results of benchmarking studies among 27 metros around the world, carried out by the Imperial College London for the year 2008, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) has learned that the performance of its métro network continues to improve year after year.

In fact, according to Mr. Richard J. Anderson, Director of the Railway and Transport Strategy Centre at the Imperial College London, “The STM distinguishes itself from its peers in several ways despite the fact that its métro cars are among the oldest in the world. On the one hand, the STM is ranked first in the area of workforce productivity, which is the highest in terms of train car-kilometres, and this at very low operating costs. Its rolling stock continues to display a high level of reliability, thus enabling the STM to deliver quality service to its clientele. The Montréal métro is also considered to have one of the smallest carbon footprints in the world. On the other hand, it must continue its efforts to develop new real-time customer information tools, expand its commercial revenues and increase employee training.”

“Our participation in the NOVA workgroup fits in with our objective for continued improvement. As a member since 2000, we have learned from our exchanges with other metros around the world about procedures and the challenges to be met. This is what has enabled us to constantly increase our efficiency in order to provide optimal service to our clientele,” declared Mr. Yves Devin, Director-General of the STM.

“Thanks to various measures that have been implemented since 2000, the STM now provides 31% more service, its productivity has grown by 16%, and the number of service interruptions has decreased by 24%,” added Mr. Carl Desrosiers, Executive Director – Operations at the STM.

Headed by the Imperial College London, NOVA is a workgroup bringing together metro networks that carry out fewer than 500 million trips per year. It conducts annual international benchmarking studies to establish best practices in the industry. This forum allows members to share knowledge, participate in studies and identify trends through a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI). These include the service offer and quality of service, innovation, finances, internal procedures to ensure reliability and operational efficiency, as well as security and the environment.

“For the STM, the benefits linked to this association with the Imperial College London and to the annual benchmarking studies are many. For example, we used best practices for equipment and maintenance in drawing up the specifications for the new métro cars. We have also benefited from this association to increase our transportation capacity with the redesign of the MR-73 cars, as well as to decrease the number of idle trains and ensure better control of fare collection with the implementation of the OPUS card,” explained Mr. Desrosiers.

“When compared to other metro networks around the world, the STM offers excellent value,” added Mr. Anderson. In this regard, it should be mentioned that the STM’s fares are still among the lowest in the world.

“Over the coming years, our challenge will be to continue to exercise good management of our assets with financial support from the Quebec government and the Ville de Montréal. In a context where we have to replace our rolling stock and renovate our infrastructure, improvement in our performance is definitely a must to maintain our level of productivity and our reliability. International benchmarking is an excellent way of getting there,” concluded Mr. Devin.   

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