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On track to operate a world-class metro in Stockholm

Posted: 25 June 2012 | Peter Viinapuu, CEO, MTR Stockholm | No comments yet

Operating on 108km of track, over three lines, and serving 100 stations, the underground metro network in Stockholm is far more than a mode of transport; it’s an absolutely critical piece of the puzzle that makes the city work. In a special interview for Intelligent Transport, Peter Viinapuu, CEO of MTR Stockholm, is keen to highlight the key aspects behind the goal of operating a world-class underground network.

“Public transport is like the water in the tap,” says Peter Viinapuu, CEO of MTR Stockholm. “It is only when it ceases to work properly that most people become aware of it. We take both our water supply and our public transport for granted. Put simply, underground trains should be on time, safe, secure and clean.”

But Peter and MTR Stockholm have far greater ambitions for the network. “We want to create a world-class under – ground network, and to do that it’s not enough to simply meet the passengers’ expectations,” says Peter.

“We want our passengers to actively and consciously choose to use the underground, because it is the best option.”

Operating on 108km of track, over three lines, and serving 100 stations, the underground metro network in Stockholm is far more than a mode of transport; it’s an absolutely critical piece of the puzzle that makes the city work. In a special interview for Intelligent Transport, Peter Viinapuu, CEO of MTR Stockholm, is keen to highlight the key aspects behind the goal of operating a world-class underground network. “Public transport is like the water in the tap,” says Peter Viinapuu, CEO of MTR Stockholm. “It is only when it ceases to work properly that most people become aware of it. We take both our water supply and our public transport for granted. Put simply, underground trains should be on time, safe, secure and clean.” But Peter and MTR Stockholm have far greater ambitions for the network. “We want to create a world-class under - ground network, and to do that it’s not enough to simply meet the passengers’ expectations,” says Peter. “We want our passengers to actively and consciously choose to use the underground, because it is the best option.”

Operating on 108km of track, over three lines, and serving 100 stations, the underground metro network in Stockholm is far more than a mode of transport; it’s an absolutely critical piece of the puzzle that makes the city work. In a special interview for Intelligent Transport, Peter Viinapuu, CEO of MTR Stockholm, is keen to highlight the key aspects behind the goal of operating a world-class underground network.

“Public transport is like the water in the tap,” says Peter Viinapuu, CEO of MTR Stockholm. “It is only when it ceases to work properly that most people become aware of it. We take both our water supply and our public transport for granted. Put simply, underground trains should be on time, safe, secure and clean.”

But Peter and MTR Stockholm have far greater ambitions for the network. “We want to create a world-class under – ground network, and to do that it’s not enough to simply meet the passengers’ expectations,” says Peter.

“We want our passengers to actively and consciously choose to use the underground, because it is the best option.”

MTR Stockholm took over the Stockholm metro operations in November 2009. The contract with SL, which manages the public transportation on behalf of the Stockholm County Council, is worth SEK 35 billion. The contract is for eight years, with an option to extend it for another six, and with it comes total responsibility for the running of the underground network. The contract includes a number of incentives, involving bonuses and penalties, in areas such as customer satis – faction, achieved traffic circulation, punctuality and cleaning.

“Our contract with SL clearly states the objectives we have to meet, which creates the ideal conditions for good quality control,” says Peter. “The incentives also spur us on to always exceed the objectives. Thanks to the long-term planning involved in our work, we are in the very best position to invest in our future passengers and to develop the underground into a world-class network.”

Solid delivery

Peter describes a two-dimensional model, focusing on customer satisfaction and efficiency, where timetable functions mark the starting point.

“The efficiency element describes our actual delivery, which should be solid and reliable,” explains Peter. “It is all about punctuality, train availability, planning, safety, scheduling and efficient maintenance of the infrastructure.”

Stockholm has a varied climate to say the least, which places heavy demands on a wellfunctioning public transportation system. After the notorious winter of 2009/2010, where large volumes of public transport throughout Sweden were paralysed by snow and extremely cold weather, the underground network also suffered, with frozen switches and icedover tracks and conductor rails. MTR Stockholm then offered to take full responsibility for coordinating the preparations for slippery tracks during autumn as well as the winter season, which brought results the following year. The underground ran smoothly for the whole winter, whereas cars were snowed in along the streets, buses were cancelled and trains in other parts of the country were at a standstill for several days.

“It was thanks to a combination of technology and coordination,” explains Peter. “As we had been given full responsibility, we were able to remain fully prepared around the clock, being proactive and fix any problems long before they arose.”

It is this precise approach – combining technical innovations with efficient coordination – that is also used in many other areas. For example, MTR Stockholm is implementing Automatic Train Operation (ATO) on one of the underground network’s three lines. The system makes train operation smoother, more environmentally-friendly and creates a better working environment for the drivers. On the red line, MTR Stockholm is working closely together with SL (the client) in initiating a comprehensive switch to a new signalling system, which will increase service frequency and punctuality, and will significantly reduce passenger crowding; plus there are a number of improvements to be made.

“One of the focus areas during the initial period has been to improve train punctuality. A number of initiatives have been implemented and we are very pleased to have performed operations in March 2012 at 97.4% – the best punctuality in the metro’s history measured as a moving 12 months average,” says Peter. “We are working with the planning department to fine-tune all the planning elements in the train circulation, a much closer cooperation between the maintenance depots and the traffic department, improving the driver information and also involving the customer service hosts at the stations. Many of these improvement initiatives have been the result of working in cross-functional WIT teams (Work Improvement Team) where staff from traffic, station, maintenance and traffic control departments are working together and sharing their knowledge and experience.

“The stations themselves are a relatively untapped resource in the underground,” says Peter. “In this respect, here in Sweden we have a lot to learn from MTR in Hong Kong, where the stations are an integrated part of the community, with shops, service facilities, offices and residential accommodation. Time is precious, and many passengers would rather avoid that extra detour after work to buy food for dinner, pick up a prescription or spontaneously buy a bouquet of flowers for their partner. The stations would become an integral part of the passengers’ daily lives and security.”

The Stockholm underground transports over one million passengers every day, between hundreds of stations and over three lines. Public transport fulfils an important role in a more sustainable society, and the trains are driven using electricity exclusively from renewable resources. Therefore, one journey represents a carbon footprint 30,000 times smaller than the same journey by car. A year’s commute on the underground from the terminus at Hässelby to T-Centralen, in the city centre, and back, uses the equivalent of a tablespoon of petrol.

“The underground is Stockholm’s life blood,” says Peter. “And we take our role as a vital public service very seriously. We want more people to choose the underground over their car, and in doing so, contribute to a sustainable society.”

Focusing on the passenger experience

“The second element in our model is customer satisfaction, which focuses on how passengers view our service,” explains Peter. “Customers’ experience is a clear focus – it’s all about those people who use the underground to travel to and from work, home, school, leisure activities, and so on. We must exceed their expectations in order to become a world-class underground provider.”

When MTR Stockholm took over the metro operations, a number of changes for passengers were seen. This included customer service hosts at all stations to help passengers find their way around, to assist passengers with disabilities and, through their presence and visibility, to increase the perception of security and accessibility across the network. Another noticeable difference after the takeover was a cleaner underground. Stockholmers are happier than ever with the cleanliness of the metro cars and the stations.

“Our cleaners are a shining example of how important it is to work on both the delivery of a service and how the service is perceived,” says Peter. “The actual cleaning results are achieved through regular, independent INSTA measure – ments. But passengers’ actual perceptions of cleanliness in trains and at stations are, of course, no less important.

“It is important to take a global delivery approach and to our business objective,” states Peter. “To achieve our objective of creating a world-class underground network, we must constantly improve across all areas. In a business like this, each improvement has a knock-on effect. If cleaning works smoothly at depots, we can turn around the trains faster, creating the opportunity for increased punctuality and service frequency. Our safety work means that passengers experience increased security, which also has an effect on customer satisfaction.

“We have to deliver a secure, enjoyable and punctual journey for passengers. After all, it’s the passengers who decide when we have achieved our objective of creating a worldclass underground network, and we are certainly on our way towards meeting that objective,” concludes Peter.

 

Biography

Peter Viinapuu is the CEO of MTR Stockholm, which operates the metro system and maintains the rolling stock in Stockholm on behalf of SL. Peter has many years of experience from leading positions within the airline industry. Before Peter joined MTR he was the COO of Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in Sweden. He has broad experience of product and performance development in customer service positions.