Metro performance on target

Metro performance on target

Metro enters the New Year on a solid footing after rounding out 2011 by exceeding performance targets for the seventh consecutive month.

The number of trains running on time in December 2011 was 89.81 per cent and the number of services delivered was 98.36 per cent.

Metro Corporate Relations general manager Leah Waymark says the result is the culmination of a year of consolidation.

“We’ve done a lot of work improving vital infrastructure and streamlining day-to-day operations,” says Waymark.

“We’re confident that in 2012 we’ll continue to benefit from the work we’ve done in the past year. We’ve made major investments across all of our operations, but we still have a lot more work to do."

Waymark says Metro is better prepared for the heat of summer than it has ever been, having retro-fitted its 93 Comeng trains to ensure they can run in temperatures up to 45 degrees rather than the previous 36 degrees limit.

The Comeng trains have passed their first big test on our only 40-plus degree day so far, with only one having to be removed from service”, says Waymark.

“We’ve also done extensive work on the tracks to ensure they don’t buckle in the heat.”

About Metro’s performance targets

Metro’s performance thresholds are to run at least 98 per cent of trains each month and for more than 88 per cent of these services to be punctual.

The government has applied a tougher measurement system under Metro’s contract for delivery and punctuality. For example, a train that bypasses the city loop or doesn’t reach its final destination now contributes to the cancellation rate, whereas under the previous contract it was counted as a full service.

The definition of an on-time train has also changed, reducing from the previous threshold of five minutes and 59 seconds to the current, shorter threshold of four minutes and 59 seconds.

A 28-day rolling average of Metro’s service delivery and punctuality figures can be viewed online at metrotrains.com.au