STM boosts service on two Metro lines to reduce wait times

Montreal's public transit agency, the STM, says trains on the Orange and Green Metro lines, the busiest in the network, will pass more frequently to reduce wait times during the week.

This is already in effect during rush hour, with trains on those two lines coming every five minutes or less.

Now, it's being extended all day. The STM says it will increase the number of trains so that riders are not waiting more than five minutes from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

That adds up to an extra 80 trips per week on the Green line, and 35 more on the Orange line throughout the day.

In all, the metro trains are expected to travel a total of 90.1 million kilometres this year. That's 1.9 million more than last year.

The change went quietly into effect on Monday, but it was announced in November when the STM's annual budget was tabled.

At that time, public transit officials were reporting a substantial increase in ridership.

More than 1 million people used the underground network on seven different days in October.

That's up from 2017, when there were only two days with more than 1 million Metro passengers in the entire year.