STM’s Computer System Crashes Temporarily, Disrupting Communication Channels

The computer system of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) experienced a temporary outage beginning at 5:45 am on Thursday morning, lasting until late morning. The system disruption, which was resolved shortly after 11 am, did not affect travel operations. However, it rendered the entire communication infrastructure, including SMS alerts and phone lines, temporarily unavailable for an unspecified period.

Prior to the restoration, users could access information through the Chrono and Transit apps. An official Twitter update from STM informed, ‘An IT outage affecting several of our platforms, including the website, phone lines, and SMS. During this time, you can use the Chrono and Transit apps for your travel needs. Our teams are working to restore the situation.’

The STM did not attribute the incident to a cyberattack. STM spokesperson Kevin Bilodeau mentioned, ‘The firewall system that filters our internal and external communications was activated, so there is no security concern at that level.’

Furthermore, a brief power supply issue was experienced on the Orange Line around 5:30 pm, but it did not impact commuters significantly. The incident marks another technological challenge for the Montreal subway, which recently received a dubious global title according to a report published by La Presse, grading metros worldwide.

In the evaluation, Montreal stood out, particularly due to its lack of platform barriers between the tracks and platforms, a feature present in most modern metro systems. This uniqueness has drawn attention to Montreal’s subway system on an international scale.

Contributors to this report include Juliette Poireau, as well as the collaboration of Guillaume Théroux and Laurie Gervais for Noovo Info.