Lien ferroviaire Centre ville - P.E.T. 500++ M$

[mtlurb]

[IluvMTL]

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Montr...759/story.html

MONTREAL - A tentative bravo goes to the authorities who run Trudeau International Airport.

In a startling outbreak of common sense, they’ve abandoned their original plan to build a shuttle train to downtown. That plan would have served airport users exclusively; this meant that for West Island commuters to get a frequently running new train, Canada’s most indebted province would have to pay for an entirely separate new line, much of it passing over the same territory as the airport train. Airport authorities insisted for years that the same rail infrastructure could not possibly accommodate both markets – airport users and commuters.

Oops. The head of the airport body, Aéroports de Montréal’s James Cherry, indicated Thursday that this dogma is no longer operative.

Turns out that, among other problems, the original airport plan would be far more costly than the original $600-million price tag.

Cherry’s more reasonable new plan calls for an elevated, Vancouver-style rail line between downtown and the airport. It would follow the axis of Highways 720 and 20. After reaching the airport, the line could stretch much farther into the West Island.

An Aéroports spokesperson added some information on Friday. She said the two markets would have separate trains and use different rolling stock, but they would share much of the same track. After reaching Dorval, a spur would head to the airport while the rest of the line proceeded west. (Whether it would be elevated after Dorval is uncertain.) The airport train would use cars that had extra room for luggage.

Some important matters are unresolved. One is whether the train’s terminus would be Central Station, as Aéroports has long demanded, or Lucien L’Allier station, as the planner of the commuter line, Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), prefers.

(Each terminus poses a challenge. If the train were to use Central Station, it’s not clear how it would span the quarter mile between Highway 720 and the station, a stretch that is packed with buildings. In 2008, the AMT proposed an elevated track that would avoid the buildings by looping behind the Bell Centre. City hall nixed this on esthetic grounds; but a rail line on stilts does not have to be ugly, and the city might be more receptive to a good design.

As for Lucien L’Allier station, it’s small and out of the way. The AMT and a large developer, Cadillac-Fairview, have proposed building a combined train-bus station, complete with shops and a hotel, at the nearby corner of St. Antoine St. and Peel St.)

Also, it’s not clear if the airport shuttle would be able to make a stop at the Vendôme métro station – a handy boarding place for many airport employees and Montreal-based travellers (as distinct from travellers using downtown hotels).

Still, leaving aside these uncertainties, Aéroports is on the right track.

The path to the airport would be more direct, and time-saving, than the shuttle’s original route. That earlier version would have used CN’s more circuitous route, which looped around Point St. Charles.

The trains would not run on diesel but on electricity. This means they’ll be relatively quiet and low in greenhouse-gas emissions. Cherry said this would also bring down energy costs by 25 to 40 per cent.

The elevated track means no bridges or overpasses will need to be enlarged, bringing further savings.

Still, much improved though it is, it’s not clear whether Aéroports’ concept is optimal.

Several years ago, the AMT proposed another concept for serving both airport-users and commuters. It’s simpler and, presumably, cheaper. At Dorval, there’d be no spur; instead, the entire line would make a slight detour, swerving off to the airport. The same trains would serve both commuters and airport users. However, some railcars, reserved for travellers, would have space for luggage.

The challenge now is for Aéroports to consult with AMT and other stakeholders, then agree to a plan that best harmonizes service to these two distinct markets. Aéroports’ switch from intransigence to flexibility augers well for something that’s been missing for years – teamwork.



Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Montr...#ixzz1txHAR8hb

[bxlmontreal]

Il n'y a pas qu'à Montréal qu'on y pense...et qu'on hésite.

http://www.air-journal.fr/2012-05-16...edium=facebook

[architektura]

Certainement! On a pensé aussi à Varsovie ...... et le train est finalement là!
On a choisi l'option comparable à celle d'AMT ("Centre ville - P.E.T. - West Island").
http://oldmapsgallery.com/montreal.htm

[jesseps]

Saw that on Facebook. There is supposedly something on the airport website, about the rail line.

[d_jeffrey]

Saw that on Facebook. There is supposedly something on the airport website, about the rail line.

Enfin une proposition qui fait du sens. Un métro de surface qui va jusqu'à Fairview ça serait bon pour tout le monde.

[jesseps]

The Montreal airport authority’s proposed rapid-transit system could feature up to 13 stations, many of them serving commuters.

The electric train line could have stops at the Fairview Pointe Claire mall, the McGill superhospital, the Georges-Vanier métro station and a new downtown terminal on René Lévesque Blvd., according to a route map provided by the airport.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/...#ixzz1wsxywdJQ

If I do manage to stay in the West Island, I wouldn't mind driving to Dorval and taking the train or whatever they decide to do.

[IluvMTL]

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/...203/story.html

BY ANDY RIGA, GAZETTE TRANSPORTATION REPORTER JUNE 4, 2012 11:01 PM


MONTREAL - The Montreal airport authority’s proposed rapid-transit system could feature up to 13 stations, many of them serving commuters.

The electric train line could have stops at the Fairview Pointe Claire mall, the McGill superhospital, the Georges-Vanier métro station and a new downtown terminal on René Lévesque Blvd., according to a route map provided by the airport.

Aéroports de Montréal chief executive James Cherry announced the train proposal last month but did not disclose the location of stations at the time.

Cherry’s previous attempts to create a train link between Trudeau Airport and downtown Montreal have failed.

Under his latest plan, airport travellers would take express trains with at most one or two stops, while commuters would take trains that serve all stations.

Much of the route would be along Highway 20. On the West Island, between Beaconsfield and Lachine, the train would duplicate the route of the existing Vaudreuil-Hudson commuter line, run by the Agence métropolitaine de transport

The airport does not know the price of its train proposal, but says it would cost more than its previous $700-million plan, which would have taken Canadian National tracks, with Central Station as its terminal.

“Until we know the final plan – how deep it goes into the West Island, how many stations, where does it end up (downtown), it’s very hard to put a dollar figure on it,” said Christiane Beaulieu, a spokesperson for the Montreal airport authority.

The train would be modelled after Vancouver’s SkyTrain Canada Line, much of which is elevated. The Canada Line links downtown Vancouver to that city’s airport. The train also serves commuters.

It was built and is operated and maintained by a joint venture between SNC-Lavalin, the Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, and the British Columbia Investment Management Corp.

Similarly, the Montreal train would be a public-private partnership, Beaulieu said. It would require some federal and provincial government funding but would be built, operated and maintained by the private sector.

For a PPP to work, it would require the sizable ridership that would come from a combined traveller/commuter train project, Beaulieu said.

The plan is still at a preliminary stage but the airport has engineering studies in hand, Beaulieu said. She said the airport would not make them public or disclose the name of the engineering firm that prepared them.

“From an engineering, population and feeder-bus point of view, we know this (route) makes sense,” Beaulieu said.

The possible locations of stations, some featuring park-and-ride lots, were determined after talks with the Société de transport de Montréal, whose buses would serve the stations, she said.

Airport travellers would take trains equipped with baggage racks.

There could be one or two intermediate stops between the airport and downtown. One could be in Dorval, for travellers who want access to nearby Vaudreuil-Hudson commuter trains. Another could be at the Georges-Vanier métro station, for those wanting to connect to the subway.

The train’s downtown terminal would be either near the Bonaventure métro station (adjacent to Central Station), or on René Lévesque Blvd., near Stanley St. A parking lot currently occupies the southwest corner of René Lévesque and Drummond, one block west of Stanley.

Beaulieu said engineering studies indicate both locations are feasible. The technology being considered could use a combination of overhead tracks and tunnels, she added.

Two previous airport-authority plans – an exclusive airport train using CN tracks and Central Station and a train that would have shared tracks with AMT commuter trains – fell through.

Quebec is now studying a different train plan put forward by the AMT.

That proposal would see train service significantly beefed up on the Vaudreuil-Hudson commuter line at a cost of up to $1 billion. The study is due by year end.

Beaulieu said the airport plan offers advantages over the AMT’s proposal. The airport train would be electric, so it would be non-polluting and cheaper to operate, she said. It also could target West Island residents around Highway 40 not currently served by AMT trains, she added.

[Rotax]

N'importe quoi. Ça va coûter un bras alors que le train de l'Ouest est déjà en branle. Faites comme à Paris et construisez-moi vite fait et pour pas cher un VAL (Véhicule Automatique Léger) entre l'aérogare et le terminus Dorval. De là, les gens auront le choix entre les services de l'AMT (incluant le train de l'Ouest), de la STM et de VIA.

[LindbergMTL]

Bien d'accord avec toi Rotax. La vision actuelle d'ADM est complètement farfelue!

[montréaliste]

Bien d'accord avec toi Rotax. La vision actuelle d'ADM est complètement farfelue!

Oui, bien d'accord messieurs, je pense qu'avec une fréquence accrue du train de l'ouest, on ne devrait pas envisager une dépense pour un équipement aussi coûteux. La redondance de l'offre qui passerait par NDG, Montréal-Ouest, Dorval ne se justifie pas même si on ajoute Fairview à la toute fin comme terminus de l'ouest en passant par le Boulevard Des Sources. Le VAL, comme tu dis Rotax me semble une alternative qui est justifiable à partir du terminus Dorval et de la gare ViaRail.