During the CoMET 2018 Management Meeting in early March 2018, the Railway and Transport Strategy Centre (RTSC) at Imperial College London, Community of Metros and the World Bank hosted an Open Session focused on the findings from “The Operator’s Story” research project. This Open Session was kindly hosted by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and the Government of India. The day’s programme included sessions centred on the research into the government and operational requirements for metro success.
“The Operator’s Story” research project included valuable contributions from Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona, Rapid Rail (Kuala Lumpur), Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company, Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR), Toronto Transit Commission, Guangzhou Metro, Metro São Paulo, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), London Underground, Metro de Santiago (Santiago de Chile). Interviews and fieldwork were carried out with each of these operators to form individual case studies supporting the research. These studies illuminate how new and developing metros can be successful and avoid mistakes of the past by highlighting upstream decisions that have facilitated, constrained or affected their operations.
The Open Session included presentations on key areas of the research findings, including government and operator actions for metro success, and a focus on Public Private Partnerships (PPP, 3P) for delivering metros. Two panel discussions were also held. The first saw senior managers from London Underground, Singapore SMRT and Metro São Paulo discuss their operational history, success factors and challenges. The second panel discussion comprised key figures from Indian metros to offer insight on the lessons learned through developing India’s current metros, and the plans for future systems.
“The Operator’s Story” emerging findings can be found here.
Many thanks to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for hosting this valuable Open Session and to Community of Metros members for their kind participation.