OCC – Community of Metros Benchmarking Group

In the past few months, the TSC has continued to share benchmarking insights and strengthen connections across the COMET community through a series of virtual events, providing members with opportunities to learn from one another and exchange experiences.

Study Webinars: We shared the key findings from several recent case studies, including Station Activations, Facilities and Events (April), OCC Best Practices (May), and AI-Driven Customer Experience Improvements in Metros (June). Alongside the study results, members heard spotlight presentations from selected metros that showcased innovative approaches, successful initiatives, and recent improvements in these areas.

MTR Tracy — AI Virtual Service Ambassador at Hong Kong MTR

Virtual General Meeting (July): The second VGM of the year looked at review of key COMET activities in the recent monthly including new interactive tools. We also presented the latest data trends up to June 2026, and members also heard from Metro Rio about benchmarking activities across COMET metros.

Joint COMET-GOAL Webinar: World Cup De-Brief (July): This collaborative webinar brought together members from COMET, GOAL, IBBG and ABBG to reflect on the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the football World Cup hosted across Canada, the USA, and Mexico in June and July. Ten member organisations participated in a roundtable discussion, sharing their experiences, best practices, and key takeaways from supporting operations during this major international sporting event.

There are multiple reasons why metros are particularly affected by human failures, including operations and/or maintenance occurring 24-hours a day, human judgement involved in multiple safety critical situations, and the potential for unpredictable overtime. Across COMET metros, human failure caused the majority of collisions and derailments. Miscommunications and multi-tasking are considered the top two most influential factors on human failures.

The study focused on active human failures that directly lead to incidents. Active failures are categorised into errors and violations, which can be further sub-categorised by the underlying motive, intention, and/or frequency. Understanding active failure types supports greater understanding of the root causes of failure.

Figure to show categorises of active failure consisting of error and violation

The study reviewed strategies for preventing human failure including process, environment, and people-based solutions. One example for preventing human error is assessing fitness for duty among train drivers. Half of metros reported use of a checklist or declaration, with some metros use technology to address fatigue including monitoring attentiveness and encouraging sufficient rest for employees before their shift. While many of these measures are focused on train drivers, increasing automation within metros means that such measures are becoming just as important for OCC staff. Opportunity areas for metros to reduce operational risk of human failures are discussed, supported by good practices and future initiatives conducted by COMET metros.

Community of Metros News: Recent Virtual Events

Research: COMET Preventing Human Failures in Train Operations and the OCC