On Friday, Raymond Bachant, director general and head of Montreal’s commuter train network told Global News the Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM) would be testing new double-decker trains on the Deux-Montagnes line to address the recent delays to the service.
Bachant said a temporary fix to the delays on the Deux-Montagnes line could be implemented as early as Monday morning.
The RTM announced on Sunday that the following departures on Monday will use double-decker trains:
- 5:50 a.m. train 920 toward Montreal
- 6:45 a.m. train 921 toward Deux-Montagnes
- 8:05 a.m. train 930 toward Montreal
- 3:45 p.m. train 941 toward Deux-Montagnes
- 4:43 p.m. train 950 toward Montreal
- 5:50 p.m. train 951 toward Deux-Montagnes
The additional cars come from other train lines around Montreal.
“We are going to take one car here and one car there to make a ten-car train,” Bachant said.
Bachant says the RTM will be testing the double-decker trains on the tracks this weekend.
RTM commuters have had to deal with over 300 delays and cancellations in the past 15 days. The frigid temperatures have been wreaking havoc on the tracks causing switches to freeze according to RTM officials.
READ MORE: Montreal commuters furious as cold weather delays RTM trains
The Deux-Montagnes train cars themselves have been an issue. Bachant says they are more than 20 years old and can’t handle the cold weather.
Bachant, a rider of the Deux-Montagne train, sympathizes with commuters and agrees that there were “too many delays” and apologizes.
READ MORE: Montreal train delays create frustration: ‘It’s just a system people can’t rely on’
Concerning supplying refunds to commuters who pay between $80 and $196 for a monthly pass, Bachant says the RTM is immediately focusing on assessing the problem with the train service.
“All our efforts and all the action and the stuff we are doing right now is focusing on minimizing those delays and to fix the situation,” Bachant said.
“We will look at that later, right now we want to get things under control.”
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