AMT train delays testing riders’ patience

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for passengers of the AMT.

Several trains have been cancelled or delayed for multiple reasons on the Vaudreuil-Hudson line.

“Well, very frustrating today,” Lionel Trembert told Global News as he waited for service to resume Tuesday morning. “I have a big appointment downtown and I don’t want to let people down. I rarely take the train and it’s one of these… you’re stuck here, powerless, can’t get outside. Not fun to be here.”

The train stopped between the Dorval and Lachine stations for 57 minutes.

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A spokesperson for the AMT told Global News a mechanical error with the locomotive’s electrical board was the reason for the delay.

“We needed the technical team from Bombardier to access the train, to come where the train had stopped, to get on board, to identify the problem and then to repair it,” Caroline Julie Fortin said.

Mechanical failures, rail congestion with CP freight trains (the private rail company owns the tracks) and bad weather are responsible for some of the train delays in recent weeks, according to Fortin.

“We are going to keep on working hard with them. We are going to keep on trying to make sure the punctuality rate is as good as it was last year,” she told Global News Tuesday afternoon.

Fortin said her team is working through the problems to try and improve service for the days and weeks ahead.

The Vaudreuil-Hudson line is the second-busiest on the AMT’s six-line network.