MONTREAL – Commuter trains may be the most efficient way for thousands of people to travel, but they are also creating traffic chaos and frustration for drivers.
“I’ve been waiting half an hour here just to pass this railroad track,” says one driver. “So, yeah it’s terrible.”
Traffic backs up for more than a kilometre on Westminster Avenue in Montreal West as drivers are forced to sit patiently in the cars and wait until the barriers lift and they can move again.
Two dozen trains from three different AMT lines pass at the Westminster Avenue Railroad crossing every morning during rush hour – and there’s a similar problem at the crossing on Elmhurst.
“It’s just annoying,” complains a local student. “You have to wait for three trains sometimes to pass by and you’re just standing there late for school.”
The congestion issue could soon go from bad to worse. Six more trains are expected to be added to these AMT lines within the next few years. The mayor of Montreal wants new tracks built below grade so that the trains can pass beneath Westminster and Elmhurst.
“Get the trains off the same level as the street,” says Beny Masella. “Put the trains down in the trench. Keep the street level, so they don’t ruin our commercial district and alleviate this problem completely.”
This problem isn’t about to end anytime soon. Studies have to be conducted and won’t be completed for at least a year. It could be years before this railroad crossing congestion nightmare ends.
“Building overpasses or underpasses on a railway structure is a complex issue,” says Paul Cote, the president of the AMT. “In the meantime, we’re trying to mitigate the risks which have been identified.”
As demand grows for more commuter rail services, so too will pressure on the Quebec government to build a railroad overpass.
“You have to see this as a global situation,” says Quebec Transport Minister Pierre Moreau. “This is why we are working together to make sure what we’re doing in one point of transit system won’t create a problem elsewhere.”
Montreal police have been monitoring the railroad crossing since 2008. Isabelle Dubé is one of several officers making sure cars don’t stop on the tracks and everyone respects all the warning bells, whistles and lights.
“Usually when we are here, drivers are respecting more closely what they have to do,” she says.
A police presence around here is the best motorists can hope for until a modern day solution comes on board to end this decades old problem.
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