There were fewer Montreal Metro service interruptions in 2019, STM says

2019 will be the year with the fewest service interruptions of five minutes or more in the Metro, Montreal's public transit authority says. 

Philippe Schnobb, president of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), says anyone who thinks the number of service interruptions is increasing is believing an "urban legend." 

"Not only have there been fewer service interruptions in the last year, but fewer than the average for metros around the world," Schnobb said Friday at the Montreal agglomeration council's financial review commission.

Since 2012, the STM has been calculating the number of service interruptions of more than five minutes per million kilometres travelled by the Metro. 

Between January and October 2019, there were 10 service interruptions for each million kilometres travelled by the Metro. 

The STM estimates that its subway trains will travel 90 million kilometres in 2019. 

So, if the trend in service interruptions continues, that means 900 service interruptions of five minutes or more will have occurred in 2019 — meaning an average of 2.5 service interruptions per day. 

In 2018, 12.2 service interruptions per million kilometres were recorded. That year, Montreal Metro trains travelled 88.8 million kilometres, bringing the average number of service interruptions of more than five minutes to three per day. 

From sleeping bags to skateboards

Schnobb says service interruptions are often caused by users, especially those who drop objects on the tracks or block the car doors. 

"Recently, what's been popular has been skateboards," Schnobb said. "There have been several in the past weeks. Yesterday, a sleeping bag. You would be surprised to see the list that we see every morning of things that were dropped on the tracks." 

The STM plans to install electronic signs at Metro entrances to indicate the service status.