Riders on Montreal’s Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM) commuter train are expecting to benefit from massive infrastructure investments meant to improve time performance and train reliability.
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There is a plan to inject $450 million over the next five years on the rolling stock, operations and maintenance.
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As an incentive to keep using the public transit system, riders will be offered a 30 per cent rebate on one monthly pass or six free train tickets to compensate for delays earlier this year.
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Some of the details include:
- Installing new electrical components on the Deux-Montagnes line switching system to prevent snow buildup that could freeze over.
- Strengthening railway bridges.
- Adding storage tracks, locomotive tests and reproofing buildings at the Lachine Maintenance Centre to improve maintenance and reliability.
- Assigning staff to strategic locations during the winter to prevent delays caused by switching and signalling problems.
- Performing maintenance work on one quarter of the 400 switches on the network before winter 2018-2019.
- Adding electrical heating elements to 20 cold air blowers on the Deux-Montagnes line.
- Installing 27 switch heaters to be installed on five lines.
- Upgrading existing MR-90 trains on the Deux-Montagnes line.
- Replacing 30-year-old locomotives with 10 new ones with lower greenhouse emissions.
The Deux-Montagnes line represents 40 per cent of ridership on all six lines of the RTM.
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It has not benefited from any new investments in infrastructure or rolling stock in 23 years.