WATCH ABOVE: Dorval Muncipal Golf Club first casualty in Train de l’Ouest
DORVAL — The Train de l’Ouest will involve a rail connection that links the Marriott Hotel at the Trudeau Airport to the train station in Dorval, Global News has learned.
According to Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau, the train will run above ground between those two sites.
Recently, Dorval officials revealed that the Dorval Municipal Golf Course would close at the end of the year to make way for airport expansion, including the Train de l’Ouest, an announcement that concerned residents with property nearby.
READ MORE: Dorval Municipal Golf Club an early casualty of Train de l’Ouest
Rouleau said that there will be no expropriations in the city as a result of airport expansion or rail construction. When asked about the course, he seemed resigned to the fact it would close, but noted that the situation isn’t final yet.
“It’s very unfortunate,” he said. “But we are still in discussions. And hopefully we’ll be able to come up with something.”
Aeroports de Montreal, the company that manages Trudeau Airport, did not respond to comment requests.
Concerned citizens, some officials and members of the golf club met at the Desnoyers Community Centre Wednesday night to discuss the situation.
Although Global News was not allowed inside that meeting, Bruce Orr, the vice president of the Dorval Municipal Golf Club, said afterward that discussions centred on continuing operations at the club for another two years. Because airport expansion is expected to go to tenders, construction isn’t slated to start until 2018.
Orr said since the course was on airport land all along, he was prepared for the course to close due to expansion. He was not prepared, however, for what seems to be on the horizon.
“The understanding at the time was that the tarmac would be extended. That’s one thing,” he said. “But now we’re finding out that there’s a train, a monorail-type train, that’s going through there.”
Orr worries about the erosion of green space and the noise level from the construction. And he isn’t alone.
“We have a lot of residents already calling our office because of the noise from the planes,” said Isabelle Morin, the federal MP whose riding encompasses the airport. She also expressed some confidence that some sort of alternative or compromise could be reached.
“I am sure there’s a way we could find a solution to this,” she said. “Maybe not keep 100 per cent of that golf club, but maybe part of it.”
WATCH: Dorval residents concerned about Train de l’Ouest
A group of citizens is scheduled to meet with the company that manages Trudeau airport next week. Another citizens’ meeting is scheduled at the Desnoyers Community Centre Feb. 11.
NOTE: This article was originally published at 14:30 on Jan. 21, and was updated to include confirmation from Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau later in the day.
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