Train

The train has been used in Montreal and the surrounding areas for over 100 years. CP and CN originally has control over the different commuter trains and were in competition with each other. In 1893 CP had their lines go from Windsor station all the way beside the lakeshore and up to Rigaud. To compete with this, CN needed to have a downtown terminal. Their solution was to bore a tunnel through Mont Royal and develop the north side of the mountain into the ideal suburub. A completed terminal was never accomplished and only a temporary one was used until the 1940's. Central Station opened up soon after and became the main hub for Montreal rail. In the 1960's and 1970's commuter train ridership declined significantly due to other modes of transportation that were becoming popular. The bus routes were now more detailed and had a larger fleet along with the newly opened metro system in the downtown core.


CN Train at Monkland in the summer of 1973

Scaling back due to lack of ridership, there remained only two lines in service. The STCUM ( Societe de transport communaute urbaine montreal ) took over CN's Deux-Montagne route and CP's Rigaud service. In 1997, a new entity was formed to make a formal group dedicated to the commuter trains, the Agence Metroplitaine de transport. Since the AMT's inception ridership has grown and new lines have been re-opened. They now service 5 lines in total including; Deux Montagnes, Vaudreuil-Hudson, Blainville-Saint Jerome, Mont-Saint Hilaire and Delson-Candiac.
The agency that oversees the current trains is named the AMT ( Agence métropolitaine de transport ). Currently it accomodates approximately 3.7 million people with a budget of 163 million dollars (CDN). Originally the two companies which oversaw the commuter trains in Montreal were CN and CP, the two owners of railtrack in Canada.

Due to the fact that the AMT does not own most of the track and has to be allotted time from CN, they cannot simply increase train frequency whenever it is needed by the people. Currently there is a push, mostly by riders in the West Island to have expanded service which would include more times during the day and later departures from downtown for those who work late.

On July 1 2010, Rigaud was dropped as the final destination on the Vaudreuil-Hudson line due to their refusal to pay annual line fees. Currently the line now stops at Hudson.

Canadian National Railways (1918 - 1988)
  1. Waterloo - Granby - Montréal and Farnham - Granby
    (76 km to Granby, 97.6 km to Waterloo, 23.5 km Granby to Farnham). Service from Central Station to Marieville, Granby, and Waterloo begun 25 November 1951 to replace discontinued Montreal & Southern Counties interurbans (Clegg & Lavallee). The CN national system time tables for Winter 1956/57 refers readers to “see Suburban Folder 'S'”.
  2. Ste. Rosalie Jct - St. Hyacinthe - St. Hilaire - Montréal
    (56.8 km, 87-95 min.). The 1882 GTR schedule was for a 85 minute run from St. Hyacinthe and arrival in Montréal at 8:50am, with an evening departure outbound at 5:10pm (Smith 1988). GTR acquired by Canadian Government Railways 1920 and transfered to CN 1923. By 1956 service was daily except Sunday arrival at Central Station at 8:20am, with return departure at 5:20pm (CN 1956/57). By Winter 1966/67 the service is shortened to Saint-Hyacinthe (53.4 km, 75-85 min.) with morning arrival at Central Station at 8:15am and evening departure at 5:20pm (CN 1966/67). Cut back to Saint-Hilaire (33.3 km) in 1968, this was the last commuter rail services operated by a railway (as opposed to a transit agency) in the Montréal region, ending 09 September 1988. Trains called at Montréal (Central Station), Saint-Lambert, Saint-Hubert, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Saint-Basil-le-Grand, Beloeil, Otterburn Park, Saint-Hilaire, and Saint-Hilaire Est (Smith 1988, CN timetable 03 February 1980/Tom Box 1996).
  3. Montréal-Nord - Ahuntsic - Montréal
    (17.1 km, 38 min. to Montréal-Nord, 11.8 km, 20-23 min. to Ahuntsic). Daily except Sunday service arriving at Central Station at 8:18am. Outbound departure from Central at 5:30pm, with additional short run to Ahuntsic departing (daily except Saturday) at 5:55pm (CN 1956/57). This commuter service was begin in 1945 (or 1946, sources differ), and ended in 08 November 1968 (Harry Dodsworth, Tom Box, Cartwright).
  4. St. Eustache (Deux-Montagnes) - Montréal
    (27.2 km). Canadian Northern Railway Company constructed a railway tunnel beneath Mount Royal, opening in 1918 with commuter service as far as Lazard. Successor CN extended service to Cartierville in 1921 and St. Eustache-sur-le-lac in 1925. This service continued up through administrative takeover by CTCUM 1982. A branch to Cartierville (originally the main line), and a summer-only extension to Calumet Beach were also operated. The Cartierville branch closed in 1982 (Tom Box).
  5. Vaudreuil - Dorval - Montréal
    (41.6 km to Vaudreuil, 19 km to Dorval). The “CN Lakeshore West” line. Service cut back to Dorval in 1958 and ended completely in 1960 (Harry Dodsworth).
Canadian Pacific Railway Company (1887? - 1982)
  1. Ste. Thérèse - Montréal
    (41.0 km, 41-60 min.). Weekday morning arrival at Windsor Station in downtown Montréal at 8:20am, with evening departure at 5:11pm (Friday train continues on to Ste. Agathe). Additional daily departure at 5:35pm (CP 1957/58). Service pattern supplemented by several long-distance trains over the same route (CP 1957/58).
        The 1907 CPR timetable shows Ste. Thérèse Junction (32 km and 47-56 minutes from Montréal's Place Viger station) at the focal point of three commuter feeder lines: Saint-Jérôme (22 km further, 85 min. in all), St. Lin (27 km further, 105 min. total), and Ste. Eustache (10 km further, 80-85 min. total) (CPR 1907).
  2. Rigaud - Vaudreuil (Dorion) - Montréal
    (64.3 km to Rigaud, 37.9 km to Vaudreuil). The “CP Lakeshore West” line. Line opened in 1887. Commuter service by CP continued up through administrative takeover by CTCUM 1982.
  3. Farnham - Montréal
    (69.1 km, 70 min.). Weekday morning arrival at Windsor Station at 7:50am, with homebound departure at 5:40pm (CP 1968/69). Service cancelled 1980 or 1981 (Tom Box, Mark Brader).



Two websites with a large collection of current and retired equipment.



Here is a website that has archives of the different departures and destinations of the commuter trains going back to 1962 at Windsor station.http://www.montrain.ca/

Cars

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 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.

Locomotives

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.
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

References :

http://jbb.poslfit.com/Pages/transportation/1984-04_rail-tor-mtl.html

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/alltime/montreal-qc.html

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/regional/montreal/200902/26/01-831589-19-millions-pour-le-train-de-blainville-saint-jerome.php
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