Train de l’Est rolls out of Mascouche to downtown Montreal

Watch: Budget-busting Train de l’Est rolls out after years of delays 

MONTREAL — Over five years later than scheduled and double its budget, the first Train de l’Est from Mascouche to Montreal rolled out on Monday morning.

The first of five daily trains, it departed at 5:40 a.m. and arrived in downtown Montreal an hour and five minutes later.

The 53 km route cost over $665 million to build (busting its original $360 million budget) and was originally scheduled for completion in 2008. To keep costs under control, the number of stations along the route has been reduced from 14 to 13 (Charlemagne station was cut) and there were fewer parking spots for commuters at train stations.

READ MORE: Montreal spends millions on transit studies and not enough on transit: critics

Allegations of corruption also plagued the project, as several of its construction companies were investigated by Quebec’s anti-corruption investigation unit, Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC), and the Charbonneau Commission.

On Monday morning, the trains were loaded with passengers, and reportedly, may have reduced traffic for those commuting by car.

As an incentive, for the first two days, passengers will be able to travel free courtesy of the AMT, and several Masouche and Terrebonne bus services will also be free for train pass holders until Feb. 1, 2015.