Why the AMT can't add trains to its Vaudreuil-Hudson line

Transports Qubechas taken out ads, warning commuters to expect serious traffic congestion on Highway 20 East throughthe Turcot Interchange starting Sunday and urging motoriststo change their habits and take public transit to avoid the gridlock.

Montreal's public transit agencyis doing its part: The STM has addedbusesthat serveAngrignonandLionel-Groulxstations.

But the Agence mtropolitaine de transport(AMT) won't be adding trains to itsVaudreuil-Hudson line.

It just doesn't have enough railcars,said the agency's spokeswoman,FanieSt-Pierre.

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The Vaudreuil-Hudson lineis thesecond-busiest route in theAMT'ssystem and the one that serves Montreal's West Island.

St-Pierresaid the AMTadded 53 cars to its trains on that line just before the start of the school year, as it doesevery year.

But the agency has a limited number of cars, she said, and they're all in use.

Last December, the AMTlaunched a call for tenders to build new trains for the Candiac, VaudreuilDorion and Saint-Jrmecommuterlines.

Bombardier was the only applicant, but the AMTrejected Bombardier's proposal because it didn't meet the specifications of the bid. It washoping to attractnew proposals from European railcar makers.

Empty seats

The AMTdoes monitor ridership and could, if needed, move cars from different lines over to the Vaudreuil-Hudson line. However,St-Pierre said there are plenty of empty seatson that line's trains.

According to figures released earlier this year, there wereabout 74,000 fewer riderson that line in 2015 compared to 2014.

In partnership withMobilitMontral, the committee co-ordinatingroadwork in the Montreal area, the AMT gaveaway free tickets for the train in order to get drivers to give it a try.

That promotion is now over, and St-Pierre doesn't knowwhetherMobilitMontralwill bring it back.

Costly logistical challenges

Even if they could add more trains, thelogistics would cost money. For example, signalingsystems would need to be updated to accommodate the extra traffic, St-Pierre explained.

Three train linesCandiac,Vaudreuil-Hudson and Saint-Jrmeall use the same stretch of trackfrom Montreal
West to theLucien-L'Allier stationto getdowntown, which also complicates scheduling.

The AMTwould also have to co-ordinate its scheduleswith freight traffic from Canadian Pacific, which owns the track.

St-Pierre says the train has to be seen as just one partof thepublic transit system, notas anentity unto itself.

"When it comes to public transit, the train is one of the solutions, but there is also the bus. It has to be looked at globally," she said.

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