Montréal Transit Developments

[henrydm]

loooks like its making good progress, l wonder how much COVID delayed it

 

[SFO-YYZ]

I don't recall hearing any mention of Eglinton until about 2006 or 2007. AMT was discussing the LRT from Central to the 30 back in 2002 publicly.

I believe he meant from CDPQ's funding announcement in April 2016 and how fast design, EA, and construction have progressed since then. The Southshore branch of the REM is well on track for opening before end of 2021, even factoring in Covid-19 delays.

I almost half anticipated some kind of reaction from you on this, given your highly predictable and routinely negative opinion of Montreal. I think we can all agree that REM's experience is something to that many cities could learn from, and that includes Toronto/Metrolinx/TTC (and STM/Exo).

But hey, how can MTL ever measure up to Centre of the Universe right?

 

[officedweller]

That West Island RoW must have been an old railway RoW.

 

[nfitz]

I almost half anticipated some kind of reaction from you on this, given your highly predictable and routinely negative opinion of Montreal

??? I love Montreal, and I've stated previously. But the grass isn't always greener. And Toronto certainly needs to learn the lesson that building above-ground faster than below ... which we'll also see demonstrated on Finch vs Eglinton. But somehow we've forgotten that on Eglinton West.

There's very little new rail tunnel on this Montreal project - mostly on the link Dorval Airport - which is also the only part of the plan that came about very quickly. Recall also that construction on the new LRT link over the St. Lawrence had already begun by the time the Caisse became involved. Toronto needs to take this lesson, and where possible put LRT on the surface or elevated, like Montreal.

That West Island RoW must have been an old railway RoW.

It was an old freight spur for many years. I seem to recall greater plans once, with thoughts of using it to divert Toronto trains away from the 2&20 into the Mount Royal tunnel.

 

[smallspy]

It was an old freight spur for many years. I seem to recall greater plans once, with thoughts of using it to divert Toronto trains away from the 2&20 into the Mount Royal tunnel.

Those plans date back to the 1930s and really had been extinguished by the 1960s, but yes, the Doney Spur lands had been purchased with an eye to using them as the new alignment into Gare Centrale.

Dan

 

[begratto]

Recall also that construction on the new LRT link over the St. Lawrence had already begun by the time the Caisse became involved. Toronto needs to take this lesson, and where possible put LRT on the surface or elevated, like Montreal.

Not exactly : the new Samuel-de-Champlain bridge was planned with two lanes for transit in the centre of the bridge, but when they started building it, it wasn't decided yet if it was going to be bus lanes or light metro. The lanes were built to accomodate both modes.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The original plan for the Champlain bridge was bus lanes in the centre - this was later changed as REM came into focus.

 

[p_xavier]

https://www.facebook.com/489884481377718/posts/1265420083824150

 

[p_xavier]

Du Quartier station looks almost finished, with platform screen doors already installed and catenaries up and ready.

Testing starts in a few weeks.

 

[felix123]

??? I love Montreal, and I've stated previously. But the grass isn't always greener. And Toronto certainly needs to learn the lesson that building above-ground faster than below ... which we'll also see demonstrated on Finch vs Eglinton. But somehow we've forgotten that on Eglinton West.

There's very little new rail tunnel on this Montreal project - mostly on the link Dorval Airport - which is also the only part of the plan that came about very quickly. Recall also that construction on the new LRT link over the St. Lawrence had already begun by the time the Caisse became involved. Toronto needs to take this lesson, and where possible put LRT on the surface or elevated, like Montreal.

It was an old freight spur for many years. I seem to recall greater plans once, with thoughts of using it to divert Toronto trains away from the 2&20 into the Mount Royal tunnel.

For someone who claims to "love" Montreal, you sure seem to hate Montreal.
In the case of the REM vs. Eglinton, Finch etc., yes the grass is most definitely greener. It seems that you're grasping at straws, attempting to find the cracks in the REM execution, but I don't know why. Building of the metro vs the subway might be a more level playing field for comparison than the REM vs Toronto's beleaguered LRT projects.

 

[nfitz]

The original plan for the Champlain bridge was bus lanes in the centre - this was later changed as REM came into focus.

Buses - glad they came to their senses. How early was that, by 2002 the AMT website said they'd been studying LRT since 1999 - https://web.archive.org/web/20021021040622/http://www.amt.qc.ca/grandsprojets/SLR/index.asp

But I'm less aware of what they were thinking in the early 1990s.

 

[nephersir7]

Buses - glad they came to their senses. How early was that, by 2002 the AMT website said they'd been studying LRT since 1999

In 2013,, the Quebec government formally requested that the new Champlain bridge be designed for LRT, not buses.

Quebec opts for LRT on new Champlain Bridge

If the Quebec government gets its way, a light rail line will run on a Champlain Bridge replacement when it opens in 2021.

montreal.ctvnews.ca

But after the 2014 election the new Liberal transportation minister (Robert Poeti) changed course and asked for it to be designed primarily for buses instead, with the option to convert it to LRT years or decades later (à la Ottawa Transitway).
That's how it ended up being built.

Quebec recommends express buses on new Champlain Bridge in 2018
Poeti said Thursday that he is not convinced a light rail train is the best option. He says estimates suggest a commuter would only save about three minutes in crossing the bridge by train compared to taking an express bus.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-recommends-express-buses-on-new-champlain-bridge-in-2018-1.2658739

Tellingly enough, after leaving politics, Poeti became the CEO of the Quebec car dealerships lobby.

 

[SFO-YYZ]

Testing starts in a few weeks.

The section around Brossard Station looks most ready, with catenary installations completed:

 

[nfitz]

I think the point can be made that the beauty and intelligence we see here is precisely that *it contains so little new tunneling* ...

I thought that was my point. The main tunnel section was already built a century ago. Little point tunneling under the river or in the median of a highway. And from Central to the river, it's mostly alongside other already-elevated structures and/or in industrial areas. And no point tunneling to Nun's Island.

 

[TossYourJacket]

I think the point can be made that the beauty and intelligence we see here is precisely that *it contains so little new tunneling*, there's no reason the entirety of say the TYSSE couldn't have been elevated, same for Eglinton West.

But then Doug Ford would have to look at the poors on the subway while driving his SUV, and we can't have that!

Seriously though, Toronto could learn a lot from this project about not doing unnecessary tunnelling.