West Island commuters turn to train as alternative to Turcot Interchange

Since closures were announced on the Turcot Interchange, Christiane Savard has developed a new morning routine.

The Pointe-Claire resident used to take her car to work in Westmount.

READ MORE: Is construction on the Turcot Interchange making Saint-Henri residents sick?

Now, she waits for the AMT train at the Valois station in Pointe-Claire.

“This is my first morning and it will be my routine for the next few years,” she said while waiting for the 7:12 a.m. train.

READ MORE: Turcot Interchange down to one lane until 2018

After sitting in traffic trying to get through the closures at the Turcot Interchange, Savard said she was fed up.

Now, she faces a different problem: it was standing room only on the Vaudreuil-Hudson line Tuesday morning.

“There’s excess people right now, so can you imagine the ridership going up?” asked commuter Adele Del Torto.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There's excess people right now, so can you imagine the ridership going up?" asked commuter Adele Del Torto.

“Where are they going to put these people?”

READ MORE: A-720 east will close in November as Turcot Interchange project continues

“There seemed to be a lot more people,” noted Dale MacDonald who catches the train in Pointe-Claire daily.

“It was squishy, there were people standing up, blocking the lanes, there’s not much room to move.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was squishy, there were people standing up, blocking the lanes, there's not much room to move."

Passengers Global News spoke to all had the same request.

READ MORE: ‘It has a huge impact’: Residents living near the Turcot interchange prepare for the future

“Add more cars,” said MacDonald.

“With this whole closure of the lanes, you can’t get a seat anymore. You used to be able to sit down and you can’t now.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "With this whole closure of the lanes, you can't get a seat anymore. You used to be able to sit down and you can't now."

While adding more trains is the simple answer, it may not be that easy to put in practice.

The AMT insists it just doesn’t have enough cars.

At the end of the summer, 53 cars were added to the Vaudreuil-Hudson line and the AMT said there aren’t any more to spare.

READ MORE: West Island commuters avoiding Turcot Interchange turn to public transit, risk overcrowding trains

To make matters worse, a signalling problem caused by Canadian Pacific Monday left passengers waiting up to 40 minutes.

“I’ve taken this train for 20 years and there’s been improvements, but there still needs to be a reality check,” said Del Torto.

“There are a lot of people who want to take the train and don’t because of delays. If you want to get to a scheduled appointment you need to leave like three trains before.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There are a lot of people who want to take the train and don't because of delays. If you want to get to a scheduled appointment you need to leave like three trains before."

More closures are expected on the highways in November.