|
|
AMTLogo.gif
The AMT also operates Montreal's commuter rail service, the trains de banlieue.
| Contents |
Overview
AMT's territory spans 63 municipalities and one native reserve, 13 regional county municipalities, and 21 transit authorities. It serves a population of approximately 3.2 million people who make more than 750,000 trips daily.
AMT's mandate includes the management of reserved (HOV) lanes, metropolitan terminuses, park-and-ride lots, and a budget of $163 million, which is shared amongst the transit corporations and intermunicipal public transit organizations. Apart from these essential services, AMT is also responsible for Montreal's commuter rail service, which links the downtown core with communities as far west as Rigaud, as far east as Mont-Saint-Hilaire, and as far north as Blainville.
History
Canadian National and Canadian Pacific had long operated commuter trains in the Montreal area, but by the 1980s, their services had dwindled to one route each. The Société de transport de la communauté urbaine de Montréal (STCUM), or Montreal Urban Community Transportation Corporation (MUCTC), which already managed metro and bus services across the Island of Montreal, assumed management of CN's Deux-Montagnes commuter service and CP's Rigaud service in 1982 as the two railways began scaling back their services.
In 1997, management and financing of both lines was transferred to the newly-created AMT, which had been established to distribute funding and coordinate transportation planning among the numerous transit operators throughout the Greater Montreal Region. Later that year, the AMT inaugurated service between Blainville and the Jean-Talon train station in Montreal's Parc Extension district, connecting to the metro at Parc . Originally, the service was designed to provide a temporary alternative for motorists from Laval and the North Shore of Montreal, while the Autoroute 15 bridge was being repaired. The service proved to be so popular that the AMT continued to fund it, and even extended a number of trains to the Lucien-L'Allier station downtown in 1999.
In 2000, AMT inaugurated its McMasterville service (which runs along a CN line), and later extended it to Mont-Saint-Hilaire in 2002. In 2001, the AMT initiated a pilot project, launching service on a fifth line (using CP tracks) to Delson.
Operations
The AMT commuter trains (trains de banlieue) operate on tracks owned by Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. The Deux-Montagnes and Mont-Saint-Hilaire lines run on CN trackage and operate out of Central Station, while the Dorion-Rigaud, Blainville, and Delson-Candiac lines run on CP trackage anjd operate out of Lucien L'Allier.
The train lines are integrated with the bus and metro network maintained by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), or Montreal Transit Corporation.
The AMT recently acquired 22 (some in operation, some still in shipment) Bombardier Bi-Level commuter cars. These cars are in operation on the Montreal/Dorion-Rigaud line and typically operate on trains #12 and #18 in the morning (07:30 and 08:45 downtown arrivals) and #21 and #25 in the evening (16:30 and 17:35 departures).
Express Buses
The AMT also runs two Metropolitain Express Buses.
- Express Terminus Centre-Ville 90 - operated by the RTL in Longueuil and links the Chevrier Park-n-Ride to downtown Montreal.
- Express Le Carrefour 902 - operated by the STL in Laval and links the Le Carrefour shopping centre with The Cote-Vertu Metro station (with a stop at the Bois-Franc commuter train station.
Commuter Trains
The AMT has two types of trains, diesel push-pull trains and electric multiple unit (EMU) trains. The Deux-Montagnes line is the only EMU line, all the others use push-pull locomotives. The Deux-Montagnes line is electrified because of the 3-mile long tunnel to Central Station where diesel trains are prohibited.
The system is divided into six fare zones, numbered 1 through 6. The fare zones are part of the greater Montreal transit fare system for buses (which goes up to Zone 8). The fare system is based on the assumption that travellers are going to or from the downtown terminal in Zone 1. As such, there is no reduced fare if, for example, a traveller makes a trip from Zone 5 to Zone 2, or entirely within Zone 3.
On January 1, 2005 stations on the Montreal/Dorion-Rigaud line were changed whereas the 4 outmost stations on the island (Beaconsfield to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue) were switched from zone 2 to zone 3. A special transition fare type (for monthly passes only) is in effect at those stations and a few others that suffered the same fare change.
Formerly, Zone 1 was completely integrated with the Société de transport de Montréal's (STM) bus and metro systems, and users could use the monthly bus/Metro pass (called the Carte Autobus Métro or CAM) on trains in Zone 1. This is no longer allowed, although holders of the AMT's Carte Train Autobus Métro, or TRAM, may transfer to the bus or Metro with no additional payment.
Tickets and passes for commuter trains are valid for any line, as long as travel is limited to the zone for which the ticket is purchased and is used within 90 minutes.
Tickets are sold by automated vending machines at each station. Passes for all zones are sold at Central and Lucien-L'Allier Stations. Passes for Zones 2-6 are sold at a few stores near the suburban stations. Passes are valid for a calendar month, and are normally on sale from the 20th of the previous month to the 5th of their month of validity. Passengers can also subscribe to La TRAM Postale which automatically debits the passenger's bank account or credit card and the sends the monthly pass by mail. The March pass goes on sale February 20.
List of Commuter Train Stations
Montréal/Dorion-Rigaud
- Lucien-L'Allier (connection to Lucien-L'Allier metro station)
- Vendôme (connection to Vendôme metro station)
- Montréal-Ouest
- Lachine
- Dorval
- Pine Beach
- Valois
- Pointe-Claire
- Cedar Park
- Beaconsfield
- Beaurepaire
- Baie-d'Urfé
- Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
- Île-Perrot
- Pincourt / Terrasse-Vaudreuil
- Dorion
- Vaudreuil
- Hudson
- Rigaud
Montréal/Deux-Montagnes
- Gare Centrale (connection to Bonaventure metro station)
- Canora
- Mont-Royal
- Montpellier
- Du Ruisseau
- Bois-Franc
- Sunnybrooke
- Roxboro-Pierrefonds
- Île-Bigras
- Sainte-Dorothée
- Grand-Moulin
- Deux-Montagnes
Montréal/Blainville
- Lucien-L'Allier (connection to Lucien-L'Allier metro station)
- Vendôme (connection to Vendôme metro station)
- Montréal-Ouest
- Parc (connection to Parc metro station)
- Bois-de-Boulogne
- Saint-Martin
- Sainte-Rose
- Rosemère
- Sainte-Thérèse
- Blainville
Montréal/Mont-Saint-Hilaire
- Gare Centrale (connection to Bonaventure metro station)
- Saint-Lambert
- Saint-Hubert
- Saint-Bruno
- Saint-Basile-le-Grand
- McMasterville
- Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Montréal/Delson-Candiac
- Lucien-L'Allier (connection to Lucien-L'Allier metro station)
- Vendôme (connection to Vendôme metro station)
- Montréal-Ouest
- LaSalle
- Sainte-Catherine
- Saint-Constant
- Delson
- Candiac
Future Projects
The AMT's future projects include:
- Extending the Montréal/Blainville line north to St-Jérôme, with an intermediate station in Mirabel. The extension is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006.
- Studying the return of light rail service to Montreal.
- There are plans to slowly replace all existing single level coaches with new Bilevel coaches similar to the ones currently in use on the Montreal/Dorion-Rigaud line.
- To ease over-crowding on the Montreal/Deux-Montagnes line, there are plans to:
- Extend the double track from its current end point at the Bois-Franc station to the Roxboro-Pierrefonds station.
- Acquire 22 new EMU cars (similar to the current MR-90 design).
- Create an overpass for the commuter train to by-pass CN's Saint-Laurent subdivision near Montpellier station (a freight line with moderate usage). CN says that it will not allow any more commuter trains without a new overpass.
External links
- Agence métropolitaine de transport (http://www.amt.qc.ca) (in French)
- Agence métropolitaine de transport (http://www.amt.qc.ca/english/welcome.asp) (in English. Corporate information only; the AMT does not offer English travel information on its web site.)