- Agence métropolitaine de transport
-
Agence métropolitaine de transport 
A Two-level rail coach.Info Locale Greater Montreal Transit type Commuter rail
bus serviceNumber of lines 5[1] Number of stations 51 rail
19 bus + numerous stops[1]Daily ridership 72,400 (all modes)[2]
- 66,300 (train)
- 6,100 (bus)Annual ridership 16,876,300 (2010)[2] Chief executive Joël Gauthier Headquarters 500 Place D'Armes, Montreal, Quebec Website AMT.qc.ca Operation Began operation January 1, 1996 Operator(s) Montrain Reporting marks AMT Number of vehicles 39 locomotives
223 coaches
[1]Technical System map 
The Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT; English: Metropolitan Transportation Agency) (reporting mark AMT) is the umbrella organization that plans, integrates, and coordinates public transportation services across Canada's Greater Montreal Region, including the Island of Montreal, Laval (Île Jésus), and communities along both the North Shore of the Rivière des Mille-Îles and the South Shore of the St. Lawrence River. It was created in 1996, replacing the STCUM's commuter rail service. The AMT operates Montreal's commuter rail and express bus services.
AMT's territory spans 63 municipalities and one native reserve, 13 regional county municipalities, and 21 transit authorities. It serves a population of approximately 3.7 million people who make more than 750,000 trips daily in the 4258.97 km2 area radiating from the City of Montreal.
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 inter-municipal 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 Hudson, as far east as Mont-Saint-Hilaire, and as far north as Saint-Jérôme.
Contents
Commuter rail
The interior of an AMT commuter train.
The AMT's commuter trains (trains de banlieue) are its highest-profile division. It has two types of trains: electric multiple unit (EMU) trains, used on the Deux-Montagnes Line, and diesel-electric push-pull trains, used on all the others. The Deux-Montagnes line was electrified because of the 4.8 km (3.0 mi) long poorly ventilated tunnel to Central Station. Diesel trains through the tunnel were at one time restricted and are now prohibited. The AMT's Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Via Rail and Amtrak trains all back into Central Station.
The AMT commuter trains operate on tracks owned by Canadian National, Canadian Pacific and Quebec Gatineau Railway. The Deux-Montagnes and Mont-Saint-Hilaire lines run on CN trackage and operate out of Central Station, while the Dorion–Rigaud, Blainville–Saint-Jérôme, and Delson–Candiac lines run on CP trackage and operate out of Lucien L'Allier terminus, beside the historic Windsor Station. The Blainville–Saint-Jérôme line also runs on Quebec Gatineau Railway trackage and on the AMT's own trackage between Sainte-Thérèse and Saint-Jérôme.
The train lines are integrated with the bus and metro network maintained by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), or Montreal Transit Corporation.
List of commuter train lines
Repentigny–Mascouche (future)Fares
A commuter train on the Dorion–Rigaud Line.The greater Montreal area is divided into 8 fare zones. Starting from downtown Montreal, they stretch outwards in all directions. The first three zones are within the cities of Montreal, Laval and Longueuil only. Zones 4 to 8 are circular around the centre of Montreal. This standardized fare zone means a user generally pays the same amount whether they travel by bus or by train. The commuter train fare system is based on the assumption that the user is travelling to or from downtown. It is the same price, for example, to travel within zone 3 or from zone 3 to zone 2 as opposed to travel from zone 3 to zone 1.
To use the train, passengers must have a validated TRAM ticket (Zone 1 to 3) or a TRAIN ticket (Zone 4 to 6). The difference between the tickets is that a TRAM ticket provides access to the Montreal Metro or STM buses without any additional payment. Regular users can get a TRAM Monthly Pass which allows for unlimited travel on any type of service within the zone indicated on the front of the card or a TRAIN monthly pass which is valid on the trains only. 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 120 minutes. Local bus tickets and passes are not valid on commuter trains. Fare inspectors sometimes check tickets, but there are no ticket barriers.
Following the introduction of the OPUS, smart card system tickets and passes are now sold by automated vending machines at each station. The machines accept cash, credit and debit cards. Purchases of more than $80 must be paid by cards. Tickets and passes are also sold at a few stores near the suburban stations. Consult the full list on the AMT's website.[3][4] 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.
Locomotives and passenger vehicles
The AMT has a variety of rolling stock ranging in date from the 1960s to 2005, originally acquiring rolling stock directly from the railways. There are total of 367 cars and locomotives in the fleet.
Locomotives
A train on the Deux-Montagnes Line.- 4 General Motors GP9RM locomotives (1310–1313). 1,800 hp (1,300 kW). Built in 1959. Rebuilt in 1993 by GEC Alstom.
- 11 General Motors F59PHI locomotives (1320–1330). 3,000 hp (2,200 kW). Built between 2000 and 2001.
- 8 General Motors F40PH locomotives (various numbers). 3,000 hp (2,200 kW). 6 former Amtrak units on lease from TITAN Transit, Inc., and 2 on lease from New Jersey Transit. ex-VRE F40PH-2 #V-30 (sold to VRE from GO Transit) acquired by AMT as AMT 310.
- 5 General Motors GP40FH-2 locomotives. Built between 1965 and 1968. All on lease from New Jersey Transit.
- 20 (on order) dual mode (diesel and electric) ALP-45DP locomotives from Bombardier. First unit was delivered on 9 June 2011, with subsequent deliveries expected at the rate of one per month.[5]
Passenger cars
A commuter train on the Mont-Saint-Hilaire Line.- 80 single-level coaches (originally from GO Transit); Built between 1967 and 1976 by Hawker-Siddeley Canada
- 24 single-level coaches; Built in 1989 by Bombardier Transportation (similar to NJ Transit's Comet II and Metro-North's Shoreliner I fleet)
- 9 bilevel coaches (gallery design); Built in 1969 by Canadian Vickers
- 22 bilevel coaches; Built in 2004 by Bombardier Transportation
- 58 single-level electric multiple unit (MR-90 design); Built in 1994–1995 by Bombardier Transportation.
- 160 (delivery in progress through 2011) bilevel coaches; to be built in 2008–2009 by Bombardier Transportation (similar to NJ Transit's multilevel fleet)[6]
The 80 Hawker-Siddeley cars are in operation on all lines except the Deux-Montagnes line. There are two types of cars; the 100 (1000) series and the 200 (1200) series. The only difference is the 200 and 1200 series has high doors for use at Central Station and are only used on the Saint-Hilaire Line
The 24 Bombardier single-level cars are in operation exclusively on the Dorion–Rigaud line Line. These are the 700 series.
The 9 Canadian Vickers gallery cars were rebuilt from June 2005 to December 2006. They were returned to the Blainville–Saint-Jérôme Line with the introduction of service to Saint-Jérôme. They are the 900 series.
The 58 Bombardier electrics are exclusively used on the Deux-Montagnes line These are numbered in the 400s, and operate in married pairs (as only one car in each pair has motors).
The 22 new Bombardier bilevels are in operation on the Dorion–Rigaud line and Blainville line. Although originally planned to be part of the revitalization project for the Dorion–Rigaud line, a set was put on the Blainville line while older double-deckers from the 1970s are being rebuilt. These are numbered in the 2000s.
On December 18, 2007, the AMT announced it had awarded Bombardier a $386 million contract to built 160 multi-level commuter cars. These cars will be based on the multilevel series of NJ Transit, as opposed to the recent purchase of GO-style bilevel cars, and will be able to enter the Mount Royal Tunnel. NJ Transit has a similar technical requirement; Bombardier designed the cars to enter the North River Tunnels between NJ and NYC. They will be numbered in the 3000s.
History
A commuter train on the Blainville–Saint-Jérôme Line at Sainte-Thérèse station.Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) 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 station and the Parc/Jean Talon train station in Montreal's Park 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 Highway 117 Dufresne 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, and continues to provide off-peak daytime weekday service on this line. The service was extended further north to Saint-Jérôme in 2007.
In 2000, AMT inaugurated its service to McMasterville (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. This was later extended to Candiac in 2005. More information about the history of each line can be found in their respective articles.
Buses
The AMT runs one Metropolitan Express Bus.
- Express Chevrier 90, also called Express Terminus Centre-Ville 90 — operated by the RTL in Longueuil and links the Chevrier Park-n-Ride in Brossard to the Downtown Terminus.
The AMT runs one Trainbus.
- Trainbus 935, also called Trainbus Blainville/Centre-ville 935- operated by the STM in Montreal and links Parc Metro Station to Lucien-L'Allier AMT Station.
Ridership
The AMT carries about 72,400 passengers on a typical weekday — 66,300 on the trains and 6,100 by bus.[7]
A train on the Delson-Candiac Line.Number of Passenger Trips (2010) [2] Rail lines Deux-Montagnes Line 7,347,200 Vaudreuil-Hudson Line 3,421,700 Blainville–Saint-Jérôme Line 2,196,000 Mont-Saint-Hilaire Line 1,833,900 Delson–Candiac Line 672,900 Subtotal — Rail lines 15,471,700 Bus routes AMT Express Bus Service 1,404,600 Total — AMT System 16,876,300 Future projects
General
The AMT's future projects include:
- The AMT is currently developing a commuter train line to connect eastern Montreal as well as the North Eastern suburbs to downtown Montreal. The Repentigny-Mascouche Line, is set to begin service in late 2012.[8]
- Studying the return of light rail service to Montreal. One light rail route would follow René-Lévesque Boulevard from Gare Centrale, then north along Bleury Street and Park Avenue to meet up with the Parc Station. Another route would go from Gare Centrale, along the Autoroute 10 corridor, to Chevrier Park-n-Ride in Brossard, which is identical to the current Route 90 RTL express bus. In addition light rail is being studied as part of the ongoing waterfront revitalization plans.[9]
Deux-Montagnes Line
Main article: Deux-Montagnes Line (AMT)To ease over-crowding on the 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 in Pierrefonds-Roxboro.
- Create an overpass for commuter trains to pass CN's Saint-Laurent subdivision just south of the Montpellier station, where CN operates a freight line with moderate usage. Via Rail also operates trains to Jonquière and Senneterre. CN says that it will not allow any more commuter trains without a new overpass.
- Open two new train stations: one at Autoroute 13 near boulevard Gouin (between Bois-Franc (AMT) and Sunnybrooke stations), and another in Saint-Eustache, just east of the line's current Deux-Montagnes terminus.
Blainville-Saint-Jerome Line
Main article: Blainville-Saint-Jerome Line (AMT)To improve service and attract new users to the popular Blainville-Saint-Jerome Line, there are plans to:
- Bring the line into Mount Royal Tunnel, joining the Deux-Montagnes Line. The proposed plan would reduce travel time to Downtown Montreal by 15 minutes, arriving directly at Central Station, instead of circling Mount Royal to arrive at Lucien-L'Allier station, west of Central Station. The AMT plans to purchase hybrid locomotives, which to be used on the Repentigny-Mascouche Line, so that trains may run electrically when in the tunnel while continuing to operate on diesel on the rest of the line.
- Double the track between Saint-Martin Junction and Sainte-Rose train stations in Laval, Quebec, to increase the number of daily trips. In February 2009, the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) announced $20 million dollars of funding to double track between the two stations and to improve signaling infrastructure along the entire route. These improvements will hopefully allow trains to travel more frequently.[10]
Vaudreuil-Hudson Line
Main article: Vaudreuil-Hudson Line (AMT)To increase service on the Vaudreuil-Hudson Line, there are plans to add dedicated tracks for commuter trains. The current tracks are used by the AMT under the permission from Canadian Pacific.
On July 1, 2010, service to Rigaud was discontinued, due to Rigaud's reluctance to pay annual fees; the rail line will end at Hudson.[11]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Programme Triennal d'Immobilisations 2011/2012/2013" (in French). Agence métropolitaine de transport. 2010-11-12. http://www.amt.qc.ca/uploadedfiles/amt/site_corpo/nouvelles_et_publications/PTI_2011-12-13.pdf. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ a b c AMT Rapport d'activité 2010 (French, p.29-30)
- ^ Tarifs
- ^ Points de vente de titres
- ^ "AMT electro-diesel arrives in Montréal". Railway Gazette International. 16 June 2011. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5zdwvXlIh. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- ^ "Bombardier clinches big deal for new commuter trains". CBC News. December 18, 2007. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/12/18/qc-comjuterytrain1218.html.
- ^ "AMT Rapport d'activité 2010" (PDF). AMT Rapport d'activité 2010. 2011. http://www.amt.qc.ca/Rapport_d_activite_2010.pdf. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
- ^ MTA joins with New Jersey on train order
- ^ Société du Havre de Montréal
- ^ http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/regional/montreal/200902/26/01-831589-19-millions-pour-le-train-de-blainville-saint-jerome.php
- ^ Montreal Gazette: "All aboard for the last train to Rigaud", April 23, 2010.
External links
- (French) Agence métropolitaine de transport
- (English) Agence métropolitaine de transport
- (French) Marc Dufour's website about the Deux Montagnes Line
- AMT Rolling stock
- Current AMT Roster
- The Canadian Trackside Guide
AMT commuter rail lines Blainville–Saint-Jérôme Line Lucien-L'Allier • Vendôme • Montréal-Ouest • Parc • Chabanel • Bois-de-Boulogne • De La Concorde • Vimont • Sainte-Rose • Rosemère • Sainte-Thérèse • Blainville • Saint-JérômeVaudreuil-Hudson Line Lucien-L'Allier • Vendôme • Montréal-Ouest • Lachine • Dorval • Pine Beach • Valois • Pointe-Claire • Cedar Park • Beaconsfield • Beaurepaire • Baie-d'Urfé • Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue • Île-Perrot • Pincourt • Dorion • Vaudreuil • HudsonCandiac Line Lucien-L'Allier • Vendôme • Montréal-Ouest • LaSalle • Sainte-Catherine • Saint-Constant • Delson • CandiacMont-Saint-Hilaire Line Gare Centrale • Saint-Lambert • Saint-Hubert • Saint-Bruno • Saint-Basile-le-Grand • McMasterville • Mont-Saint-HilaireDeux-Montagnes Line Gare Centrale • Canora • Mont-Royal • Montpellier • Du Ruisseau • Bois-Franc • Sunnybrooke • Roxboro-Pierrefonds • Île-Bigras • Sainte-Dorothée • Grand-Moulin • Deux-MontagnesRepentigny–Mascouche Line (future) Gare Centrale • Canora • Mont-Royal • de l'Acadie • Sauvé • Pie-IX • Lacordaire • Anjou • Rivière-des-Praires • Pointe-aux-Trembles • Charlemagne • Repentigny • Terrebonne • MascouchePassenger railways of Canada Intercity Sightseeing Commuter rail GO Transit (Greater Golden Horseshoe) • Agence métropolitaine de transport (Greater Montreal) • West Coast Express (Lower Mainland)Metro systems Light rail C-Train (Calgary) • Edmonton Light Rail • Hamilton Light Rail • Hurontario-Main Street LRT (Mississauga) • Kitchener-Waterloo Light Rail • O-Train (Ottawa) • Toronto Pearson Airport People MoverStreetcar Heritage tramways Downtown Historic Railway (Vancouver) • High Level Bridge Streetcar (Edmonton) • Nelson Electric Tramway • Whitehorse trolleySee also: Canadian railways • Light rail in Canada • Canada railwaysCategories:- Agence métropolitaine de transport
- Railway companies established in 1996
- Standard gauge railways in Canada
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
