Mont-Saint-Hilaire line

Mont-Saint-Hilaire (also designated exo3) is a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by Exo, the operates public transport services across this region.

Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Outbound train at Saint-Basile-le-Grand
Overview
OwnerExo
Line numberSH
LocaleGreater Montreal
TerminiCentral Station
Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Stations7
WebsiteRTM - Mont-Saint-Hilaire line
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemExo
Operator(s)Bombardier
Daily ridership8,600 (2018)[1]
Ridership2,245,000 (2018)
History
Opened1859
Technical
Line length34.9 km (21.7 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map
Mont-Saint-Hilaire line
Central Station
Bonaventure
Victoria Bridge over
St. Lawrence River
Zone 1
Zone 3
 Saint-Lambert
Longueuil–Saint-Hubert
Zone 3
Zone 5
 Saint-Bruno
 Saint-Basile-le-Grand
Zone 5
Zone 6
 McMasterville
Richelieu River
 Mont-Saint-Hilaire

The Mont-Saint-Hilaire line was operated by the Canadian National Railway (CN) between 1859 and 1988. The line was not active until Exo's predecessor agency, the Agence Métropolitaine de transport (AMT), resumed passenger service in 2000.

There are 7 inbound and 7 outbound departures per weekday.[2]

Overview

This line links the Central Station in downtown Montreal with Mont-Saint-Hilaire, on Montreal's South Shore.

The line offers seven departures every weekday morning towards Montreal and seven returns to Saint-Hilaire every weekday evening. It is also the only commuter train line not to have any train stations on the island of Montreal outside of Downtown Montreal. All the other train lines have at least 4 stops before leaving the island.[3]

The trains are owned and managed by Exo, and operated by Bombardier's Transportation division.

Today, over 9,000 people ride this train daily.

History

CN service

This commuter route was opened by CN in 1859. Equipment in the late 1960s and early 1970s, operated once daily each direction, was a hodgepodge of ca 1930 coaches and an equally eclectic mix of yard switchers, freight and passenger diesel electric engines. Service was suspended in 1988, due to low ridership and old equipment used.

Central Station – Saint-Isidore shuttle service

During the Oka Crisis in the summer of 1990, the Société de transport de la communauté urbaine de Montréal (STCUM) organised a temporary rail shuttle service between Montreal Central Station and the town of Saint-Isidore due to the closure of the Honoré Mercier Bridge during said crisis. That service used part of the present-day Mont-Saint-Hilaire line between Montreal Central Station and Saint-Lambert station via Victoria Bridge, and then branched off to the CN Rouses Point Subdivision towards Saint-Isidore.

AMT service

The Mont-Saint-Hilaire line was re-opened in 2000 (between Montreal Central Station and McMasterville) by the AMT as a measure to mitigate traffic congestion caused by roadwork. Train service was progressively increased to respond to rapidly growing demand. The line was extended to its current terminus at Mont-Saint-Hilaire in 2002.

RTM/Exo service

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 Mont-Saint-Hilaire line became Exo 3, and its line colour was updated to a lighter pastel shade of violet.

List of stations

The following stations are on the Mont-Saint-Hilaire line:

Station Location Connections Zones
Gare CentraleMontreal
Amtrak
Downtown Terminus
Bonaventure Metro station
STM: 150, 358, 410, 430, 515, 535, 935 (within walking distance along René Lévesque Boulevard), 61, 75, 168, 420 (on University Street), 74, 75 (on de la Gauchetière Street).[4]		 1
Saint-LambertSaint-Lambert
Amtrak
RTL: 1, 6, 55, 106		 3
Longueuil–Saint-HubertSaint-Hubert RTL: 8, 19, 22, 98, T23
Saint-BrunoSaint-Bruno RTL: 91, 92 5
Saint-Basile-le-GrandSaint-Basile-le-Grand Exo: 24, 26
McMastervilleMcMasterville Exo: 23, 27, 85, 200, 201, 300, 20B, 20M 6
Mont-Saint-HilaireMont-Saint-Hilaire Exo: 11, 21, 22, 25, 300

The commuter line operates over the following Canadian National subdivision:

  • Saint-Hyacinthe Subdivision (between St-Hilaire [54.2] and Montreal [74.1])

References
  1. https://exo.quebec/Media/Default/pdf/section8/publications/RA_2018_exo.pdf
  2. "Rapport d'activités 2012" (PDF) (in French). Agence métropolitaine de transport. 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  3. "Horaire Montreal/Mont-Saint-Hilaire" (PDF). RTM. 2017. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  4. "Plan du Reseau STM 2007" (PDF). STM. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
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