One of the busiest train stations on the exo commuter rail network and its main terminal for three lines will be closing for up to 12 months on April 1.
Lucien-L’Allier train station will be closed to all passengers, forcing them to find alternative ways to get to and from downtown.
Trains on the Vaudreuil-Hudson and Candiac lines will start and stop at the Vendôme station. People will have to take the bus or metro to get downtown.
Commuters using the Saint-Jérôme line will have to start and stop their commute at the Parc station. Only some trains will continue to the Montreal West train station.
“Kind of shocked right now because I don’t want to take the metro but going to have to,” Sabrina Roger, a commuter on the Saint-Jérôme line, told Global News.
Exo officials say the temporary closing of the Lucien-L’Allier terminal is required to overhaul the station. Some of its infrastructure dates back to the mid-1970s.
The plan is to rebuild four platforms, add shelters and improve the lighting.
“We know that it’s going to have some inconvenience,” Jean-Maxime St-Hilaire, an exo spokesperson, told Global News.
St-Hilaire says riders will appreciate the upgrades.
“In the long term, it’s going to be really beneficial to the riders. They’re going to be enjoying a whole new station,” he said.
Ridership is returning to exo’s lines but still hasn’t reached the pre-pandemic levels.
St-Hilaire is hoping the Lucien L’Allier upgrades will help attract more riders.
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