Five-month performance a new milestone

Metro has posted a fifth month of performance exceeding 90 per cent, with 92.39 per cent of trains running on time in August.

The new record on-time figure is another significant milestone for the company, which ran 98.4 per cent of scheduled services.

Metro chief executive officer Andrew Lezala says it's a very welcome result that demonstrates continued strong performance despite a series of incidents outside of Metro’s control during the month.

“August was challenging for us. We had a number of overheard power line problems, some due to high winds as well as a series of track and signal faults, and police operations that can have a knock-on effect across the network,” he says.

“And the deliberate lighting of a fire on the Frankston line was a huge problem for us which caused extraordinary inconvenience for thousands of our customers.

“So in this context, the result is a very good one that shows we are posting high performance figures regardless of these external factors which are out of our control.”

Mr Lezala says the next challenge for Metro is to fine-tune its approach to morning and afternoon peak services on individual lines.

“There are inconsistencies across lines; some of our customers are getting much better peak services than others and that’s our next area of focus. We need to iron out those differences,” he says.
 

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.