Montréal Transit Developments

[W. K. Lis]

The Montréal Metro trains are not air-conditioned. The same as with the Metro trains in Paris France.

Except it is worse because of the heat wave heating Paris and the rest of Europe.

42,6°C in Paris: Europe is shattering heat records this week
See link.

Paris transport guide: how to keep your cool during the heatwave

From link.

Those bravingla canicule should prioritise the more recently refurbished lines 1, 2, 5, 9 and 14. However, strictly speaking they’re not “air-conditioned”; they are very energy-efficient and generate what’s called "refrigerated ventilation" throughout their expansive, winding subterranean passages.

Lines 3, 3 bis, 6, 10, 11 and 12 are the most likely to resemble furnaces. Of course the trains have “natural ventilation”, thanks to skylights on the roof, but during periods of extreme heat, it’s the unbreathable, hot and uncomfortable air that’s circulated.

That leaves lines 4, 7, 7a, 8 and 13, which have what’s termed “forced mechanical ventilation”. This means air is sucked out and reinjected into the train, causing a slight draft of air that is sadly not fresh.

For those feeling particularly uncomfortable and heat-stressed, the best respite is to be found on Paris’s increasingly popular and increasingly extensive tram (streetcar/light rail) network.

With the exception of the T1 (which will be upgraded in 2022) Paris’s trams are new, and their comparatively efficient air-conditioning is a luxury in a city that struggles to keep its people cool.

That brings us to RATP’s buses, 94 percent of which – alas – do not have air-conditioning. For this reason, bus drivers last year won the right to wear Bermuda shorts or skirts in the place of their trouser uniform.

 

[felix123]

Track installation progressing on the south shore/rive-sud

[From the REM Facebook page]

 

[SFO-YYZ]

Track installation progressing on the south shore/rive-sud

View attachment 196790
[From the REM Facebook page]

Concrete rail ties!!!! What a rare sight in Canada....

I believe these tracks in South Shore will be used for testing starting in mid-2020 when the first Alstom trains start to arrive.

 

[robmausser]

Concrete rail ties!!!! What a rare sight in Canada....

Its becoming more common.

All of the new GO line expansions/double tracking are concrete

The Kitchener ION LRT is concrete rail ties.

 

[Kyle Campbell]

Its becoming more common.

All of the new GO line expansions/double tracking are concrete

The Kitchener ION LRT is concrete rail ties.

Same in Ottawa. It seems to be the standard on new lines, I'd assume the crosstown would use concrete as well

 

[Kyle Campbell]

The Montréal Metro trains are not air-conditioned. The same as with the Metro trains in Paris France.

Except it is worse because of the heat wave heating Paris and the rest of Europe.

42,6°C in Paris: Europe is shattering heat records this week
See link.

Paris transport guide: how to keep your cool during the heatwave

From link.

The metro no, but the REM will be pretty much the first system in Canada that's totally climate controlled, stations and all, if you ignore UP express

 

[Streety McCarface]

The metro no, but the REM will be pretty much the first system in Canada that's totally climate controlled, stations and all, if you ignore UP express

Weston and Bloor aren't climate controlled.

 

[Bayer]

I assume the first time I used the Montreal subway was at the Expo in 1967 as a three-year old, but a five-day stay in Montreal last week gave me a renewed appreciation of the TTC.

Montreal subway stations are often much larger and attractive, and devoid of self-referential art, and the trains - especially the new ones - are also well-designed (edit: meaning that they look good). But the depth of the stations, the lack of air conditioning, the infrequent, small, noisy and uncomfortable trains, as well as the fact that when a problem happens, it affects the entire line - all those really made me miss our own subway, however unattractive. And considering what I experienced, I'm convinced the Opus system is definitely inferior to Presto (which I detest anyway).

 

[begratto]

And considering what I experienced, I'm convinced the Opus system is definitely inferior to Presto (which I detest anyway).

How so? Just curious.

 

[nfitz]

How so? Just curious.

I'm curious too, but fundamentally, Opus is more limited. The biggest issue, is unlike Compass, Oyster, Presto, or anything else I've used, it's not a cash card - but you have to prepurchase tickets or passes. So if suddenly you find yourself taking a different bus system or are in a different zone than usual, you can't just tap, and not worry about it - but have to stop and purchase something.

Loading online is much more restricted for Opus than the other systems. You can't just load it online, and tap somewhere the next day to get it ... you can't do online loads at all - unless you buy a physical card reader and have a computer that you can plug it into! You can't even load using an Android phone, which you can do with Presto.

In my experience trying to buy single-ride Opus tickets is much slower than buying single-ride Presto tickets. Instead of just tapping your credit card, you have to insert your credit card, and type in your pin! I was stunned at how long the line-up was for people to buy a ticket at Bonaventure metro a few weeks ago - it seemed to take forever for each transaction. Of course, both systems should make it so you can just tap a credit or debit card - which Toronto is working on ... I'm not sure the Montreal time frame.

If you only have a monthly pass subscription and never use anything other than STM it's okay - but beyond that, it's relatively limited, even compared to Presto, let alone Compass or Oyster.

 

[p_xavier]

The Opus system, including all equipments, is being replaced to support banking cards and account-based ticketing. I met with Interac yesterday and the only NDA thing I can say is that their infrastructure should be ready by December 2020. Visa just got their Canadian certification in May. Vancouver got a compliance derogation from the latter.

The new readers are currently being installed for the STM buses. Phase 2 will allow smart cards operations on these new readers. Phase 3 is the city of Montréal Celeste project with integrated mobility which won the intelligent city Infrastructure Canada award. This is due in December 2020. Phase 4 is Open Payment, which will be activated when all equipments are replaced.

The Opus system is nearly 15 years old, thus it was made to be offline mode only due to LTE not being available and small towns not even having cell signals, hence the limitations that are known now.

 

[nfitz]

That's good to hear! I hope the implementation of the next generation of Opus goes smoother than the oft-delayed second generation of Presto.

If Opus is only 15-years old though, I don't know what precluded it from being a cash card though, rather than just a ticket/pass repository. That's a lot younger than other cash cards such as Oyster, and a similar image to the first generation of Presto. I'm also puzzled why the ticket vending machines haven't been updated to accept tap, given how many generations of Presto equipment we've already seen on TTC (which perhaps doesn't speak well to the original implementation and hardware!). I also don't see why there are so few machines at busy stations - but Montrealers seem to be more tolerant to lining up than in Toronto ... they even line up for buses ... it's all seems very surreal after not having ridden much in Montreal for years!

Visa worked very well for me in Vancouver earlier this year, with the 90-minute transfer processing working through multiple zones - I think on my wife's MasterCard as well, but I didn't check her statement. Ultimately, it's that type of open payment that makes the whole thing usable for those from out-of-town in cities other than New York or London, where the usage is going to be so high that it justifies buying fare cards.

 

[p_xavier]

That's good to hear! I hope the implementation of the next generation of Opus goes smoother than the oft-delayed second generation of Presto.

If Opus is only 15-years old though, I don't know what precluded it from being a cash card though, rather than just a ticket/pass repository. That's a lot younger than other cash cards such as Oyster, and a similar image to the first generation of Presto.

Visa worked very well for me in Vancouver earlier this year, with the 90-minute transfer processing working through multiple zones - I think on my wife's MasterCard as well, but I didn't check her statement. Ultimately, it's that type of open payment that makes the whole thing usable for those from out-of-town in cities other than New York or London, where the usage is going to be so high that it justifies buying fare cards.

Compliance. The Quebec government always refused to update its laws to have the Opus card as a money purse.

The Federal Government's intent with Celeste is to have Montréal design the de-facto Canadian standard for transit mobility, which would be reused in other cities.

 

[nfitz]

Compliance. The Quebec government always refused to update its laws to have the Opus card as money purse.

That's just absurd ... I guess they are too busy passing laws so that only non-religious white people can wear head scarves!

Is that why Presto is so restricted for usage in Gatineau?

 

[p_xavier]

W

Compliance. The Quebec government always refused to update its laws to have the Opus card as money purse.

Is that why Presto is so restricted for usage in Gatineau?

In a part yes. It's different because the STO is a provincial entity not a federal one, but still under federal juridiction.