Mascouche line

Mascouche (also designated exo5, known during planning as Repentigny–Mascouche) is a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by Exo, the organization that operates public transport services across this region.

Mascouche
Outbound train at Mont-Royal station
Overview
Line numberMA
LocaleGreater Montreal
TerminiCentral Station
Mascouche
Stations13
WebsiteExo – Mascouche line
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemRéseau de transport métropolitain
Operator(s)Bombardier
Daily ridership7,120 (2018)[1]
Ridership1,852,300 (2018)
History
OpenedDecember 1, 2014
Technical
Line length52 km (32 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Route map
Mascouche line
Mascouche
Zone 6
Zone 5
Terrebonne
Repentigny
Zone 5
Zone 3
Pointe-aux-Trembles
Rivière-des-Prairies
Anjou
Zone 3
Zone 2
Saint-Léonard–Montréal-Nord
Saint-Michel–Montréal-Nord
Zone 2
Zone 1
Sauvé
Ahuntsic
Mont-Royal
Canora
originally Portal Heights
Central Station

Opened on December 1, 2014, by Exo's predecessor agency, the Agence Métropolitaine de transport (AMT), the Montreal region's sixth commuter train line required the construction of 10 new train stations, several civil engineering structures and 13 km of new railway track. This includes some track in the median of the A 40 between Repentigny and Mascouche

Beginning on May 11, 2020, the Mascouche line was rerouted around the Mount Royal Tunnel, bypassing Mont-Royal and Canora stations due to the construction of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM).[2] In 2023, Côte-de-Liesse will open as the Mascouche line's new southern terminus, replacing Central Station. Riders wishing to reach Central Station can transfer to the REM at Côte-de-Liesse.

Overview

The line was announced as the Repentigny-Mascouche line in a press conference on March 17, 2006, and follows a major campaign by the residents of eastern Montréal and the north-eastern suburbs to restore commuter rail service.

The 51-kilometre (32 mi) line uses the Mount Royal Tunnel and Canadian National track from Montreal's Central Station to Repentigny. New track was built from Repentigny to Terrebonne along the Quebec Autoroute 640, before turning towards the Trois-Rivières Subdivision of the Chemins de fer Québec-Gatineau at Mascouche. Most of the route, in particular the section after Mont-Royal to Repentigny, follows a similar path to the never-built Line 6 of the Montreal Metro, which was planned as a steel-wheeled "regional metro" line using a somewhat similar alignment. The journey time between Mascouche and downtown Montreal is 61 minutes.

Originally estimated at $300 million and expected to open in 2008, the line costed $670 million and opened in 2014. It has 13 stops (10 new, 3 existing) and offers eight departures in each direction per weekday, mainly during rush-hour.

Locomotives

On May 14, 2007, the former Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) and New Jersey Transit put out a joint call for tenders to purchase dual-powered locomotives. In Montreal, the locomotives switch to electric power at Mont-Royal (this was originally planned for Ahuntsic) to enter Mount Royal Tunnel to Central Station. This international project is the first of its kind in North America.[3] Twenty locomotives of type ALP-45DP were delivered to the AMT from Bombardier Transportation. They now haul the RTM's 3000-series Bombardier MultiLevel coaches, in groups of 5 or 6 cars.

History

Two former commuter train lines ran along part of the route of the line.

CN Montreal North commuter line

CN operated a commuter service from Central Station to Montreal North from 1946 until November 8, 1968. An electric locomotive and several coaches ran one round trip a day in each direction, in rush hours only. Stations going east along the CN St Laurent Subdivision from Eastern Junction where it meets the Deux-Montagnes line were:

Ridership was never very high. Near the end, most remaining passengers preferred to switch to the Sauve Metro station on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro which opened October 14, 1966. Congestion on that part of the line was one of the reasons the Mascouche line was inaugurated.

Métropolitrain

A temporary service dubbed the "Métropolitrain" was organized by the STCUM from May 15 to October 12, 1990, while Autoroute 40, the boulevard Métropolitain, was being rebuilt. It ran on then-Canadian National track from near the Du Collège metro station to Repentigny with an intermediate station near the Sauvé Metro station. Two trips ran each way in each weekday rush hour. There was no direct service to central Montreal. As there was no existing regional transit coordinator at the time, the line was never very successful.

Stations:

Exo service

The Agence Métropolitaine de transport (AMT) began service on this line on December 1, 2014, after completing construction of 10 new train stations, several civil engineering structures and 13 km of new railway track.

On June 1, 2017, the AMT was dissolved and replaced by two new governing bodies, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) and the Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM). The RTM took over all former AMT services, including this line. In May 2018, the RTM rebranded itself as Exo, and rebranded each line with a number and updated colour. The Mascouche line became Exo 5, and its line colour was updated to a lighter pastel shade of purple.

Since May 11, 2020, the Mascouche line has temporarily terminated at Ahuntsic station (with some trains continuing to Central Station via an alternate route) due to the ongoing conversion of the Deux-Montagnes line into the mainline of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) light rail system. Once the downtown section of the REM is completed sometime in 2022, a new station called Côte-de-Liesse will open, expressly designed to ensure smooth transfer of users between the Mascouche line and the REM, and replacing Ahuntsic station as the line's new terminus.[4]

List of stations

There are 11 current stations on the Mascouche line:[5]

Station Location Connections Zones
Central Station
By alternative route as of May 2020
Borough of Ville-Marie Via Rail
Amtrak
Downtown Terminus
Bonaventure Metro station
Buses
Public transit connections
1
Canora
Closed since May 2020
Boundary between the town of Mount-Royal and the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce STM: 92, 160 1
Mont-Royal
Closed since May 2020
Town of Mount-Royal STM: 16, 119, 165, 465
Ahuntsic Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville STM: 19, 54, 121, 179
Within stiff walking distance of the Saint-Jérôme line
1
Sauvé[6] Sauvé Metro station
Saint-Michel-Montréal-Nord[5][7] Boroughs of Montréal-Nord and Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension STM: 39, 41, 139, 439, 440 2
Saint-Léonard-Montréal-Nord[5][8] Boroughs of Montréal-Nord and Saint-Léonard STM: 32, 33, 136, 432
Anjou[9] Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles STM: 40
3
Rivière-des-Prairies[10] STM: 48, 49, 81, 428, 449
Pointe-aux-Trembles[11] STM: 186, 410, 430, 486, 487
Repentigny[12] Repentigny Exo: 5, 9, 11, 14, 100 5
Terrebonne[13] Terrebonne Exo: 140, 440
Mascouche[14] Mascouche Exo: 2, 3, 403, 417, 418, 427 6

Criticism of route

Most observers agree that the proposed route from Montreal to Repentigny makes sense for several reasons, including the use of existing infrastructure. The route from Repentigny to Mascouche has been criticized for several reasons, including:

  • The need to build (some say unnecessarily) 12 km of track from Repentigny to Mascouche.
  • In the Le Gardeur sector of Repentigny, the new track passes very close to a large General Dynamics munitions plant, where explosives are stored and processed. Both GD and Natural Resources Canada, which regulates explosives in Canada, have raised safety and security issues. Exo has built a large canopied shelter wall and berm between tracks and plant.
  • The route does not serve cities east of Repentigny, particularly L'Assomption and Joliette. Those cities have bus service to Repentigny.
  • Some say that the RTM could serve Mascouche more cheaply, easily, and quickly by using the CP line that leaves the Saint-Jérôme line at St. Martin Junction in Laval, also serving the eastern part of that city.

See also

References

  1. exo Annual Report (PDF) (Report). 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  2. Thomas, Katelyn (May 11, 2020). "Here's how to get around the Mount Royal tunnel closure". CTV News Montreal. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  3. "MTA joins with New Jersey on train order". Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2007.
  4. "Deux-Montagnes and Mascouche lines - Transitional network from January 2020". REM. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  5. "Mascouche line (RTM)". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  6. "Sauvé station: Information on this station". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  7. "Saint-Michel - Montréal-Nord Station: Information on this station". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  8. "Saint-Léonard - Montréal-Nord Station: Information on this station". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  9. "Anjou Station: Information on this station". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  10. "Rivière-des-Prairies Station: Information on this station". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  11. "Pointe-aux-Trembles Station: Information on this station". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  12. "Repentigny Station: Information on this station". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  13. "Terrebonne Station: Information on this station". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  14. "Mascouche Station: Information on this station". exo.quebec. Retrieved May 22, 2019.

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