Laval resident Marie-Hélène Desaunettes has had enough of the spotty train service she’s been getting on the Deux-Montagnes train line.
“With the years, it started to be less and less efficient and more and more frustrating,” Desaunettes said.
She says that in her experience, the train on the Deux-Montagnes line hasn’t been on schedule a single time over the past year.
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“In the mornings, in the evenings, it has become the subject of discussion on the trains and in the tracks,” Desaunettes told Global News.
So she is walking the talk and taking the company responsible for the train service, exo, to court
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“Users pay for a certain service, service has to be provided,” Desaunettes explained.
The class action lawsuit is looking for commuters who are affected by the delays to get compensation.
“We’re also asking the court to order exo to take remedial action, whatever’s necessary to provide decent service,” said James Duggan, the lawyer representing Desaunettes.
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Duggan also brings personal experience to the table.
“I’ve experienced being a hostage on that train I remember one experience for two hours,” Duggan said.
He said the train was so jammed, at each stop, there was an announcement warning people not to get on the train.
“Finally, the train stopped and we were told that they were calling for an ambulance because somebody had either passed out or had a stress attack being couped up in the train. It was a real horror show.”
On July 19, exo said it could no longer guarantee punctuality in its service because of construction on the new electric train system.
It has also blamed the extreme heat for this summer’s delays — and the cold and snow, in the winter.
“Well, in 2006 there were winter conditions too and the trains were running,” Desaunettes added.
As an incentive to keep using the public transit system, riders were offered a 30 per cent rebate on one monthly pass or six free train tickets to compensate for delays earlier this year.
But Desaunettes says it was a hassle to obtain.
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The request to authorize the class action lawsuit is before a judge and could take up to two years to proceed.
If the judge authorizes the lawsuit — and you’ve used exo’s services in the past three years — you’re automatically included but have the option to opt out.
Global News reached out to exo, a spokesperson wrote “given that this matter is before the courts, we will let the legal proceeding unfold where it will and exo will not be commenting any further.”
–With files from Tim Sargeant and Dan Spector
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