Metro falls short of February target
Metro has issued an apology to its customers after failing to meet the punctuality target for February.
The number of trains running on time in February was 87.35 per cent, falling short of the 88 per cent required by the
Victorian Government under Metro's Franchise Agreement. But the number of services delivered was 98.52 per cent, exceeding the 98% target.
Metro CEO Andrew Lezala said while the result was the best in four years, it was not good enough.
"We are extremely disappointed by this result, and I apologise to all of our customers on behalf of everyone here at Metro,” says Mr Lezala.
February marks the first month since June 2011 that Metro has failed to meet its performance measures.
Mr Lezala says the poor result is due to a combination of factors including ongoing infrastructure faults and teething problems with new rostering and fault management systems.
"February is traditionally a challenging month and we worked very hard to reverse that trend,” he says.
"Although this result is significantly better than the past four years, we really wanted to turn this around for our customers and hit the targets for a ninth consecutive month".
Mr Lezala says Metro is continually upgrading ageing infrastructure and making operational changes to improve the reliability and efficiency of train services.
"For example, we've streamlined driver rosters and we've introduced a much more effective train fault reporting system which is based on engineering standards and is helping to reduce delays,” he says.
Mr Lezala says Metro will learn important lessons from the challenges faced in February.
"While I'm disappointed with the results this month, I am also extremely confident that we have the right people in place to continue the path to a reliable and efficient train network for all Melburnians,” he says.
"We've made a commitment to deliver sustainable improvement and that is exactly what we will do."
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
