MONTREAL – Montreal’s train authority wants to spend at least $40 million upgrading the Mount Royal tunnel so a new commuter line’s diesel-carrying locomotives can use it starting late next year.
The cost of the extra safety features add to the $671-million price tag of the already-over-budget Train de l’Est.
That new line – between Mascouche and downtown Montreal – was initially expected to cost $300 million.
The five-kilometre Mount Royal tunnel runs between Town of Mount Royal and Central Station downtown.
Last year, the Agence métropolitaine de transport said minimal tunnel upgrades would be required, at a cost of $4.5 million, before the Train de l’Est could launch.
But after intense criticism about the 94-year-old tunnel’s lack of modern safety and evacuation features, it now plans significant improvements.
AMT spokesperson Brigitte Léonard said the agency is working on a “final business case” regarding tunnel upgrades.
Get daily National news
It will be presented to the new Parti Québécois government.
She said such business cases are required by the provincial government for projects with price tags of more than $40 million.
The Mount Royal tunnel, which opened in 1918 and is owned by Canadian National, is only used by the Deux Montagnes commuter line, which is electric.
The AMT has spent $308 million buying 20 dual-mode locomotives, which can switch mid-trip between diesel and electric power.
Because of a derailment last year, the locomotives are in storage pending a Transportation Safety Board investigation. The AMT has said it expects them back in service soon.
Some locomotives are to be used on the Deux Montagnes line, where the AMT needs them so it can start using new, higher-capacity double-decker railcars. On that route, locomotives will only carry a “very, very tiny” amount of diesel, enough to allow it to move about 100 metres in a garage, Léonard said.
However, on the Train de l’Est, to launch in late 2013, the AMT opted to build a hybrid route, dismissing critics who called for it to be electrified. On that line, locomotives will run mostly on diesel, switching to electric for part of the trip, including through the tunnel. That means locomotives will be carrying significant amounts of diesel.
Though it would not run on diesel in the tunnel, it would still be carrying fuel, raising concerns about a possible derailment or other accident.
In December, Mayor Gérald Tremblay made public a letter in which Montreal’s fire department recommended the AMT study installing emergency exits in the tunnel. The department also wants high-capacity fire extinguishers and a new ventilation system added.
Léonard said the business case now being completed by the AMT proposes the tunnel be upgraded by late 2013. She said she could not comment on what upgrades will be recommended until the business case is completed.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.