The
Montreal Metro ( ) is a rubber-tired metro system, and the main
form of public transportation
underground in the city of Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
.
The Metro, operated by the
Société de
transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14,
1966, during the tenure of Mayor
Jean
Drapeau.
Originally consisting of 26 stations on three separate lines, the Metro
now incorporates 68 stations on four lines measuring in length,
serving the north, east, and centre of the Island of
Montreal
with connections to Longueuil
, via the Yellow Line, and Laval
, via the Orange line. The metro
system is currently Canada's third longest and second in total
annual passenger usage, in 2008 it served 382.5 million riders a
year (transfers not included) according to the STM website, the
metro system has transported over 6 billion passengers as of 2006,
roughly equivalent to the world's population. The Montreal Metro
was inspired by the
Paris Metro and
in turn is also the inspiration for the
Lyon
Metro and
Marseille Metro, as
well as the
Mexico City Metro and
Montevideo Metro, all constructed a
few years later, and all which also share the same rubber-wheel car
design and similar Montreal Metro station architecture.
History
Urban transit first came in 1861 where a first line of horse-drawn
cars started to operate on St-Jacques street. Eventually, as
Montréal grew, a comprehensive network of streetcar lines provided
service almost everywhere. But urban congestion started to take its
toll on streetcar punctuality, so the idea of a subway was soon
considered.
Unbuilt projects
Starting in 1910, where a first proposal was tabled, the Montréal
subway would prove to be an elusive goal of the Montréal Tramways
Company, and following municipalization, of the Montréal
Transportation Commission.
1910
1910 project
The first
subway proposal, dated 1910, was for a single line running
underneath De Bleury Street and Park Avenue
from Craig Street (now St-Antoine
) all the way to Mount Royal Avenue
. The line was to run underground from Craig to
Pine
Avenue
.
An eventual expansion up St-Laurent avenue to De Montigny was also
contemplated at the time.
1944
1944 project
In 1944,
the Montreal Tramways company proposed a 2 line network, running
underneath Saint
Catherine Street
from Cabot Square (Atwater Street
) to Papineau Avenue
, and a second line under Saint Denis
Street
(from Jean-Talon
Street to Notre-Dame
Street
), then turning westwards under Notre-Dame and
Saint Jacques
Street
all the way to Guy Street
, then turning north and connecting with the other
line at Guy street.
Proposed extensions were to run northward under De Lorimier up to
Beaubien, eastward from De Lorimier to Viau street under Ontario
street, northward Côte-des-Neiges and Queen-Mary to Snowdon
(Décarie), westward under Sherbrooke to Girouard, and southwards
under Wellington, Centre and Verdun to 1st Avenue in
Verdun.
1953
1953 project
The newly
formed Montreal Transportation Commission proposed a single line,
running under Saint Catherine Street from Atwater Street towards Peel
where the line would have turned south, going
underneath Dominion
Square
all the way down to Saint Jacques Street, which it followed to Saint Denis Street. Then, it would have gone north all the way
to
Crémazie Boulevard, right by
the
Youville
maintenance shops.
Proposed extensions were to run northwest under Sherbrooke,
Girouard & Décarie to De L’Église, in St-Laurent, northeast
under d’Iberville and Jean-Talon to Pie-IX and eastward under
Ontario to Viau.
1961
1961 project
The last proposal was the closest to what was to be built. The
major difference with the built initial network was that there was
no line to Longueuil, line 2 extended northward only to Crémazie
instead of Henri-Bourassa, and that the Canadian National commuter
train lines to Cartierville and Montréal-Nord would be integrated
into the system. Negotiations with CN did not work out, and line 3
was left unbuilt. However, a line numbered 4 was built to
Longueuil, on the South-Shore, to serve St-Helen’s Island, site of
Expo’67.
Proposed extensions were to run northwest under Sherbrooke,
Girouard & Décarie to De L’Église, in St-Laurent, northeast
under d’Iberville to Crémazie and eastward under Ontario to
Viau.
1967
The 1960’s were very optimistic years. Metro planning did not avoid
the general exuberance of those years, and
a 1967
study even proposed 6 additional lines that would bring the
25 km of Métro lines of 1967 to 112 km for 1982.
Between 1967 and 1984
Current network
Stained-glass mural by Pierre Gaboriau
and Pierre Osterrath at Berri-UQAM station
Construction began in May 1962 and was engaged before Montreal was
chosen as host of the
1967 World's Fair ,
held in the summer of 1967. Regardless of the fair, the city badly
needed a mass transportation system, projects dating back to 1910.
The main
lines (Green ,
Atwater
to Frontenac
; and Orange , Bonaventure
to Henri-Bourassa
) were opened gradually starting in October 1966,
with the Yellow line
(Berri-de-Montigny
to Longueuil
, on the south shore
of the Saint Lawrence River
) not opened until April 1967.
A
Line 3 was originally
intended as a surface metro running in part through the existing
railway tracks running under Mount Royal
to Cartierville
. But then, as negotiations with the
Canadian National Railway (CN
Rail) for the use of their
tracks and
tunnel were stalled, Montreal was
chosen as host of the Expo 67. Plans and budgets were therefore
redirected for the design and construction of a replacement line,
Line 4, constructed especially for Expo 67, in place of the never
built Line 3, whose tracks are now used for the
Deux-Montagnes commuter train. The Montreal
Metro nonetheless continues to be numbered as if this proposed line
had been constructed as Line 3 of the Metro.
With the
awarding of the 1976 Summer
Olympics to Montreal, construction began in October 1971 for
the extension of Line
1 from Frontenac to Honoré-Beaugrand
to service the main Olympic site; the new stations
were opened in June 1976.
Later,
Line 1 was extended from Atwater to Angrignon
(September 1978), while Line 2 was extended from
Bonaventure to Place-Saint-Henri
(April 1980), Snowdon
(September 1981), Côte-Sainte-Catherine
and Plamondon
(January and June 1982), and Du
Collège
(January 1984).
Crowded Berri-UQAM station during rush
hour
Two years
later, a new line (Blue
) was built from De Castelnau
to Saint-Michel
(June 1986), with transfers to Line 2 at Jean-Talon
, and Line 2 was extended further to Côte-Vertu
(November 1986). Line 5 was then
extended to Parc
(June 1987), Acadie
(March 1988), and the existing Snowdon station on Line 2 (January 1988). To this
date, the Montreal Metro is Canada's second largest
subway system.
The lines, however, were not planned to end where they eventually
did in 1990.
Line 2 was originally meant to have two or
three more stations beyond Côte-Vertu; however, priority funding was given to Line
5. The plans for Deguire/Poirier, Bois-Franc, and Salaberry
stations were scrubbed. Line 5 itself was shortened due to funding
issues.
It was originally been projected to have
stops west of Snowdon (Côte Saint-Luc, Cavendish, Montréal-Ouest, Lafleur) and
east of Saint-Michel (Pie-IX
, Viau, Lacordaire, Langelier, Galeries
d'Anjou).
An entire metro line in initial planning was also scrubbed, the
so-called
Line 7/Pie
IX - Saint-Leonard/White Line, also due to the same
funding issues.
Proposed for the first time by the Bureau des Transports de
Montréal (BTM) in September 1983, the original project for a
new north-south line (Line 7, the number 6 being reserved for another
surface metro line proposed by the Ministère des
Transports du Québec (MTQ)) would have had 10 stations (from
Pie-IX
to Léger), which then got formally proposed by the
Communauté urbaine de Montréal
(CUM) at the start of 1984, this time having 12 stations (from
Pie-IX to Maurice-Duplessis/Langelier).
While a number of proposals for further expansion had been studied
over the years, it all came to a stop around 1990, when the
PLQ government placed a moratorium on further
metro construction.
Then, in 2002, construction began on a
three-station extension of Line 2 from Henri-Bourassa under the Rivière des Prairies to Montmorency
on the island of Laval
(northwest of the island of Montreal). This extension was completed and the three
new stations were opened on April 28, 2007. Ridership increased by
60,000 a day with the new stations, as of
2009.
Network
- See also: Table
of Montreal metro stations
The four Montreal Metro lines are identified by colour, by number,
or by terminus station. The terminus station in the direction of
travel is used to differentiate between directions of travel. The
busiest line is the
Orange Line, while the
quietest is the
Blue
Line. The
Yellow
Line is the shortest line, with three stations, built for
Expo 67.
On April 28, 2007, three new stations were
opened in Laval along the
Orange Line.
Metro
lines that leave the Island of Montreal are the Orange Line, which continues to Laval, and the Yellow Line, which continues to Longueuil
. On weekdays and Saturday and Sundays, the
Metro service runs from approximately from 5:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m
.on the Green, Orange and Yellow lines and 5:30 a.m. to 12:15 a.m.
on the Blue line.
Rolling stock
A mosaic mural at Sherbrooke
station
The Montreal Metro's 759-car fleet runs entirely underground and
uses exclusively
rubber tires
instead of steel wheels. As noted in the STM official document,
The Montreal Métro, a source of pride, the Metro runs
entirely underground because the cars are not weatherproof and the
electrical system would be severely affected by rain and melting
snow.
Conception of the first generation of rolling stock in Montreal
went beyond just adopting the
MP 59 metro car
from
Paris.
North
American cities building modern subway systems (Washington,
D.C.
, San Francisco, Atlanta,
Montreal) in the 1960s and 1970s were in search of modern rolling
stock that not only best fit their needs, but also encompassing a
change in industrial design that focused on the aesthetics and
performance of public transit vehicles.
Train floor levels are near flush with the station platforms, but
unlike the Washington D.C. Metro, Montreal's Metro system is not
wheelchair-accessible. Currently, only five stations have
elevators.
This has become a sore point for
accessibility advocates in Montreal. The three stations in Laval are provided
with elevators, and two stations - Lionel-Groulx
and Berri-UQAM (orange line only) - had elevators added in
2009. Three more orange-line stations
have elevators under construction, and five or six more could be
made accessible by 2012. Accordingly, the remodelling of the
seating arrangement in the MR-73 cars has added a space for
wheelchairs. Finally, lack of subway accessibility is somewhat
mitigated by the STM's adapted transit system and the use of
accessible low-floor buses on major lines.
Like the metro cars of most other systems in the 1960s and 1970s,
Montreal's cars lack air conditioning . The Montreal trains are
among the oldest North American metro trains in service - MR-63's
date back to the system's opening in 1966 and the MR-73 to 1976.
This lack of air conditioning can make trips uncomfortable for
passengers . Passengers cannot move between cars once on board with
the current train stock, which can be an inconvenience if the car
becomes overcrowded or when looking for a seat. The trains are
wide, narrower than the width of the trains used by most other
North American metro systems. This narrow width limits the capacity
of the trains, but allowed the use of single tunnels (for both
tracks) in construction of the Metro's subway lines. In response to
overcrowding on the orange line, a redesign of the MR-73 cars
removed some seats to make for more standing room.
Design
Montreal's metro trains are made of LAHT (low-alloy high-tensile)
steel, painted blue with a thick white stripe running lengthwise.
Trains are assembled in three, six or nine-car lengths. Each
three-car segment element consists of two
motor cab cars encompassing a
trailer car. Each car is wide and has four wide
bi-parting
leaf doors on each side for
rapid passenger entry and
egress. The small
cross section of the cars allows easier tunnel construction under
existing underground utilities. The total capacity of each car is
160 passengers, 39 to 40 of which are seated. Design specifications
called for station dwell times of typically 8 to 15 seconds.
Each car has two sets of
bogies (trucks), each
with four sets of support tires, guide tires and backup
conventional steel wheels. The motor cars each have four
direct-current traction motors coupled to reduction gears and
differentials. Montreal's metro trains use
electromagnetic brakes, which create
retarding forces against the side
rails of the track. The electromagnetic brakes are generated by the
train's
kinetic energy until it has
slowed down to about . The train then uses composite
brake blocks made of
yellow birch injected with
peanut oil to bring it to a complete stop. Two
sets are applied against the treads of the steel wheels for
friction braking. Hard braking produces a characteristic burnt
popcorn scent. Wooden
brake shoes perform
well, but if subjected to numerous high-speed applications they
develop a carbon film that diminishes brake performance.
View of a track from a sandpile
bumper-post showing the cross-section of guide ways, concrete
rollways and conventional track
Rubber tires make the Montreal Metro exceptionally quiet, transmit
minimal vibration, and help the cars climb uphill more easily and
negotiate turns at high speeds. However, the advantages of rubber
tires are offset by noise levels generated by traction motors,
which are noisier than the typical North American subway car.
Trains can climb slopes of up to 6.5% and economize the most energy
when following a humped-station profile (track profiles that
descend to accelerate after leaving a station and climb before
entering the station). Steel-wheel train technology has undergone
significant advances and can better round tight curves, and climb
and descend similar grades and slopes. Despite these advances,
steel-wheel trains still cannot operate at high speeds ( ) on the
same steep or tightly curved track profiles as a train equipped
with rubber tires.
Train operation
lines but the Yellow Line are equipped with automatic train
control. Generally, the train operator supervises the opening and
closing of doors, while the train drives itself. The train operator
can also drive the train manually at his or her discretion.
Signalling is effected through coded pulses sent through the rails.
Coded speed orders and station stop positions transmitted through
track beacons are captured by beacon readers mounted under the
driver cabs. The information sent to the train's electronic modules
conveys speed information, and it is up to the train automatic
control system computer to conform to the imposed speed.
Additionally, the train computer can receive energy-saving
instructions from track beacons, providing the train with four
different economical coasting modes, plus one mode for maximum
performance. In case of manual control, track speed is displayed on
the cab speedometer indicating the maximum permissible speed. The
wayside signals consist of point (switch/turnout) position
indicators in proximity to switches and inter-station signalling
placed at each station stop. Trains often reach their maximum speed
of in 16 to 26 seconds depending on grade and load.
Trains are programmed to stop at certain station positions with a
precise
odometer (accurate to plus or minus
five centimetres). They receive their braking program and station
stop positions orders (one-third, two-thirds, or end of station)
from track beacons prior to entering the station, with additional
beacons in the station for ensuring stop precision. The last beacon
is positioned at precisely 12 turns of wheels from the end of the
platform, which help improve the overall precision of the
system.
Trains draw current from two sets of 750-
volt
direct current guide bar/
third rails on either side of each motor car.
Nine-car trains draw large currents of up to 6,000
amperes , requiring that both models of rolling-stock
have calibrated traction motor control systems to prevent power
surges, arcing and breaker tripping. Both models have electrical
braking (using motors) to assist primary friction braking, reducing
the need to replace the brake pads.
Two models of train are used on the Metro:
Canadian Vickers MR-63
The Canadian Vickers-built MR-63, delivered for the metro's opening
in 1966, is used on the Green and Yellow Lines and the
Bombardier-built
MR-73 is used on the Orange and Blue lines. Motor cars
weigh about 27 metric tonnes, trailer cars weigh 20 metric tonnes.
A three-car set (one element) weighs a total of 74 metric
tonnes.
The MR-63 is identified with grey interiors, four ventilation hoods
protruding over the roof of each car, two 113
kW
(154
hp) 360-V series
traction motors that make a whining noise and
have round cab headlights. Montreal's rolling stock is among the
oldest still in use on any metro system in the world. A $1.2
billion contract is under negotiation with Bombardier to replace
the MR-63 fleet.
Maintenance of Montreal's subway cars is rigorous, as reliability
levels (Mean Distance Between Failures/MDBF ratings) are more than
double that of typical North American subway cars.
The MR-63 is the first generation of high-performance subway cars,
a mixture of technology dating back to the mid-1960s and modern
train technology. The MR-63 model has undergone numerous
technological and reliability upgrades. Major upgrades include
on-board computer modules for automatic train control in 1976 with
subsequent revisions of hardware and software, solid-state door
interlocks in 2003, modern ergonomic driver cabs with new digital
dashboards and automatic station annunciators in 2005. Most
notably, all the MR-63 carshells emerged factory-fresh with new
interiors and a new paint scheme after being fully refurbished at
the
GEC Alstom Pointe St. Charles workshops
in 1993. As a result, the MR-63 fleet appears relatively new,
gleaming and modern despite being 40 years old (as of 2006).
The MR-63 fleet remains exceptionally reliable (
Mean Distance Between
Failures of in 2004) by North American standards. However, they
suffer elevated levels of vandalism, they retain many obsolete
components, parts availability is diminishing, and ride quality has
deteriorated over the years as their suspension systems and rubber
spring packs harden with old age. Poor ride quality has not been
attributed to the tires or tracks.
The MR-63 model uses a series-to-parallel servo camshaft rheostat
to control and regulate power to its traction motors; this control
system can be heard tapping under the floor of a motor car as the
train undergoes rapid acceleration at an initial rate of 1.33 m/s²
(3.0 mph or 4.8 km/h per second). This control system
also features a dynamic rheostatic
braking mode that uses the motors to
slow the train, turning the motors into generators and dissipating
the resulting energy as heat in the rheostat grid.
The 2006 STM action and investment plans indicate that the MR-63
fleet will remain in service up until 2014, with their projected
replacement by 2012.
Bombardier Transportation MR-73
Inside a MR-73 train.
The MR-73, delivered in 1976, is the second generation of
high-performance metro cars, identified by rectangular cab
headlights, blue and dark orange interiors, 124 kW
(168 hp) traction motors that growl while accelerating out of
a station, have side vents and a unique three-note sound signature
when the train pulls out of a station. The initial rate of
acceleration of the MR-73 model is 1.43 m/s² (5.2 km/h or
3.2 mph per second). The three-note sound is produced by
traction motor control equipment called a "current chopper", which
is used to control and power the motors on the train in stages
without incurring a power surge. It does this by modulating the
current in 5 consecutive stages (90, 120, 180, 240 and
360 Hz), the latter 3 being normally audible. A prototype for
the current chopper has been built by the Canron company using a
Jeumont original design in the early 1970s on an MR-63 train. Two
of the three elements of this "Jeumont Train" are currently
operated on the
Line 1
Green among rheostatic-started MR-63s. One is much louder than
the other. They are the only two to exhibit the whole five-note
audible signature in normal operation, even though it is possible
to hear them during longer than usual starts on regular
MR-73s.
These notes are the same as the first three notes of
Aaron Copland's "
Fanfare for the Common Man", one
of the musical themes for Expo '67, though this is apparently just
a coincidence. Some MR-73s originally sported murals of Montreal at
the end of the cars, although these were damaged by vandalism and
removed long ago.
The MR-73 has a different electrical braking system than the MR-63
to assist friction braking. The MR-73's current chopper recuperates
energy when in braking mode, turning traction motors into
generators and sending a regulated current back into the traction
power supply for other trains to use. Electrical braking is most
effective when one train draws power while starting while another
train at a different location sends power while braking.
The Mean Distance Between Failures (MDBF) for the MR-73 exceeds in
2004. Beginning December 2005, the MR-73 fleet underwent $40
million in renovations to reconfigure interior seating to increase
total car capacity, and install new poles and new panels with a new
ergonomic colour scheme that discourages vandalism, decreases
motion sickness and promotes
aesthetic harmony. The renovations also include an ergonomic
full-spectrum lighting system that provides therapeutic
anti-depression effects for its passengers. Like the older MR-63
metro fleet, the MR-73 driver cabs will be modernized and equipped
with ergonomic features and digital dashboards.
Maintenance
Rolling stock maintenance is effected in three facilities, in two
locations.
Plateau d'Youville
The Plateau d'Youville, located in the north end of the city is
located at the intersection of Crémazie and Saint-Laurent
Boulevards.
It provides heavy maintenance of buses, subway cars, light
maintenance of MR-73 subway cars and is the main base for the track
maintenance workshops (where track sections are pre-assembled prior
to installation).
Beaugrand Garage
An older generation MR-63 train is in
the Beaugrand Garage.
Note the turntable to change trucks in the foreground.
The Beaugrand Garage is located east of line 1 terminus
Honoré-Beaugrand. It is entirely underground.
It provides light maintenance on MR-63 subway cars.
Centre d'attachement Duvernay
Duvernay is a garage and base for maintenance of way equipment. It
accesses the network through the line 1/line 2 interchange
southeast of Lionel-Groulx.
The access building is located at the corner
of Duvernay and Vinet streets in Sainte-Cunégonde
.
Centre d'attachement Viau
Viau is a garage and base for maintenance of way equipment. It
accesses the network immediately west of the Viau station (line 1).
The access building is within the Viau station building; in fact,
facilities are visible from trains going west of the station.
Snowdon
interchange track between lines 2 and 5 south/west of Snowdon
station is used for the storage of maintenance of way equipment.
There are no surface facilities.
The tail tracks west of Snowdon station extend about 790 metres
west of the station, reaching the border of the city of Hampstead.
The end of the track is marked by an emergency exit on the corner
of Queen Mary and Dufferin Roads.
Garages
Idle trains are stored in four garages: Angrignon (west of
Angrignon line 1 terminus), Beaugrand (east of Honoré-Beaugrand
line 1 terminus), Saint-Charles (north of Henri-Bourassa terminus)
and Montmorency.
The latter has been built perpendicular to
its station to allow an easier potential expansion of the Line 2
deeper in Laval
territory.
Next generation of trains
In May 2006, the Quebec Government announced the negotiation of a
$1.2 billion contract to replace the MR-63 metro fleet of 336 cars.
Alstom voiced its dismay over directly
awarding the contract (to
Bombardier) without a bidding
process. Negotiations between the STM and Bombardier were to be
ongoing until 2007. The negotiations focused on the project's cost
controls, terms of contract, train specifications and warranty. If
negotiations had failed, the Quebec government and the STM would
have reverted to a bidding process.
On January 10, 2008, Quebec Superior Court Judge Joel Silcoff
rendered his decision regarding Alstom's filing of legal action
against the Quebec government's ministry of transportation. The
latter sought to by-pass the bidding process, citing that
Bombardier was the only domestic candidate capable of fulfilling
the eventual contract. Silcoff ruled in favour of Alstom, enabling
the company to bid on the contract. It was unknown at the time of
writing (March 2008) whether or not the STM would appeal the
decision, revert to the bidding process or venture to do both at
the same time. Regardless, this decision will delay the arrival of
the new rolling stock, previously slated for 2010–12, by an
estimated one to two years. The MR-63-type cars have been in use
since 1966.
Production at Bombardier's La Pocatière plant will be winding down
as the building of M-7 electric multiple-unit commuter railcars for
New York's
Long Island
Railroad and
Metro-North of
the
Metropolitan
Transit Authority nears completion. Production may ramp up
again to produce Montreal's Metro cars starting in 2009. The STM
indicates that the first train sets will start rolling between 2010
and 2012.
As of 6 February 2008, the Government of Quebec decided to begin
the bidding process, which would serve to save time, delaying
delivery of the first trains by 9 to 12 months.
The 342 new cars will feature full-width walkways between the cars
which can be occupied by passengers, resulting in higher train
capacities. They will also be equipped with an air-suspension
system, larger windows and doors, and wheelchair-spaces, although
the vast majority of Metro stations are not wheelchair-accessible.
They will also feature more natural lighting, high definition
televisions, a new PA system and surveillance cameras. News reports
also suggest that the new rubber-tire trains will have to meet very
demanding performance requirements: higher speeds (up to
80 km/h), powerful accelerations, high-speed gradeability,
high-performance brakes, good ride comfort, low noise, low
maintenance costs, low energy costs and high levels of reliability.
Improving on the performance levels of the current metro fleet and
developing new rolling-stock capable of using sheer speed as a
means of increasing line capacity will represent a major challenge
to either Bombardier or Alstom.
Design
- See also Montreal Metro
artists.
De La Concorde Metro station.
The design of the Metro was heavily influenced by Montreal's winter
conditions. Unlike other cities' metros, nearly all station
entrances in Montreal are completely enclosed: usually in small,
separate buildings with swivelling doors meant to mitigate the wind
caused by train movements that can make doors difficult to
open.
All separate entrances are set back from the sidewalk; as well
several stations in
Downtown
Montreal are directly connected to buildings, and thus have
several entrances inside pre-existing buildings as well as
street-level entrances, making the Metro an integral part of
Montreal's
underground
city despite its lack of elevators. Several metro entrances are
also located within building façades. Only three stations have open
entrances, which are prevalent in other cities.
Montreal's metro is renowned for its architecture and public art.
Under the direction of Drapeau, a competition among Canadian
architects was held to decide the design of each station, ensuring
that every station was built in a different style by a different
architect.
Several stations, such as Berri-UQAM are important examples of modernist architecture, and various system-wide
design choices were informed by the International
Style.
Along with the
Stockholm Metro,
Montreal pioneered the installation of public art in the metro
among
capitalist countries, a practise
that beforehand was mostly found in
Socialist and
Communist
nations (the
Moscow Metro being a case
in point). More than fifty stations are decorated with over one
hundred works of public art, such as
sculpture,
stained
glass, and
murals by noted Quebec artists,
including members of the famous art movement, the
Automatistes.
Some of
the most important works in the Metro include the stained-glass
window at Champ-de-Mars
station, the masterpiece of major Quebec artist
Marcelle Ferron; and the Guimard entrance at Square Victoria station,
like the famous metro entrances designed for the Paris Métro, on permanent loan since 1966
by the RATP to commemorate its cooperation in
constructing the metro. Installed in 1967 (the 100th anniversary of
Guimard's birth) this is the only authentic Guimard entrance in use
outside Paris
, although
reproductions using original moulds were given to Mexico City
(Metro Bellas
Artes
on line 8), Chicago (Van Buren
Station
on the Metra network),
Lisbon (Picoas station on the yellow
line) and Moscow (Kievskaya
station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya).
Operation
A train at Berri-UQAM during rush
hour
Metro service starts at 05:30 and stops at 01:00 on weekdays and
Sunday, and 01:30 on Saturday. However, the
Blue Line stops service
earlier, at 00:15 due to lower passenger volumes. During rush hour,
there are three to five minutes between trains on the
Orange and
Green Lines. The frequency,
however, decreases to 12 minutes during late nights.
The STM operates both the Metro and the bus services in Montreal,
thus transfers between bus and Metro are free. Fare payment is via
a barrier system, including magnetic tickets and passes, as well as
a RFID card.
Fares are partially integrated with the
Agence métropolitaine de
transport's
commuter rail system,
which links the Metro to the outer suburbs via five interchange
stations.
Future projects
An OPUS card reader located at the
Bonaventure Metro Station
On April 21, 2008, the
STM unveiled
the
contactless smart card
called OPUS as a means of fare payment. In preparation for this new
step in Montreal's public transportation network, turnstiles which
incorporate the reader and automated vending machines had already
been installed in metro stations; buses had previously been fitted
with new fare boxes that incorporate the card reader, in order to
ensure the uniformity of methods of payment across Montreal's
transit network and that of its suburbs.
One advantage to the smart card compared to the current system is
the seamless integration with other transit networks of
neighbouring cities, eliminating the need to carry small change or
purchase different tickets. The same can be said of the commuter
train service run by the
Agence métropolitaine de
transport that require the purchasing of a ticket different
from those offered by the
STM. Another
advantage relates to the speed at which users can access the
system. As opposed to the
magnetic
stripe cards previously in use, which has been sold alongside
the new OPUS card up until May 2009, the
contactless smart card is more
user-friendly in that not only will the card not risk becoming
demagnetized and rendered useless, but it also does not require
patrons to slide the card in a particular way—proximity to the
contactless reader will suffice.
Costs to the STM related to the project are approximately $138
million, compared to the original estimated cost of some $100
million. The project was originally supposed to be implemented in
2006.
City of Montreal
On June 12, 2008 the City of Montreal released its overall
transportation plan for the immediate future. In addition to
service improvements in bus and rail, the following projects were
given priority status in the overall transportation scheme:
Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT)
De La Savane Station
Vendôme Station
- An
new extension of Line
4 from Berri-UQAM is being studied in the long term that would
go to McGill
station to ease congestion on that part of the
green line.
- In
2006, the AMT has studied and rejected the possibility and cost of
an extension from Lionel-Groulx to the city of Brossard
on the south shore of Montreal as an alternative to
the proposed light rail project in the Champlain bridge
corridor.
City of Longueuil
- In
2001, The Réseau
de transport de Longueuil (RTL) has considered an extension of
Line 4 with four new
stations beyond Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke, under the city of Longueuil to Collège
Édouard-Montpetit but their priority was switched to the
construction of the proposed light rail project in the Champlain
bridge corridor. In 2008, Longueuil Mayor Claude Gladu brought the proposal back to life
stating that an expansion to College Édouard-Montpetit was a
priority for his city.
- The first new station (Vieux-Longueuil) is slated to
be located at the corner of Rue Saint-Charles and Rue Saint-Jean in
the Old Longueuil neighbourhood. This
area is generally considered to be the downtown area of
Longueuil.
- The second station (Gentilly) would be located at the
corner of Chemin Chambly and Rue
Gentilly. The station would be located near the campus of Collège
Édouard-Montpetit.
- The third station (Curé-Poirier/Roland-Therrien) is to
be located at the corner of Boulevard Curé-Poirier and
Boulevard Roland-Therrien,
a major intersection of two commercial arteries.
- The fourth station (Jacques-Cartier/De Mortagne) would
be located at the intersection of Boulevard Jacques-Cartier and
Boulevard Roland-Therrien. This station would serve as a regional hub
with buses available to the cities of Boucherville
, Varennes
and Sainte-Julie
. It would also be in proximity to Centre hospitalier
Pierre-Boucher, Longueuil's second largest hospital.
City of Laval
- On
July 22, 2007, the mayor of Laval, Gilles Vaillancourt, with the ridership
success of the current Laval extension, announced his wish to loop
the Orange line from
Montmorency to Côte-Vertu stations with the addition of six (or seven) new
stations (three in Laval and another three in Montreal). He
proposed that Transports Quebec,
the provincial transport department, set aside $100 million
annually to fund the project, which is expected to cost upwards of
$1.5 billion. See also City of Montreal (The orange
line) above.
West Island
Lasalle
- Lasalle district newspapers have discussed
in 2007 extending line 1 west of Angrignon station. .
Pioneer in tunnel advertising
In the early years of the Montreal Metro's life, a unique mode of
advertising was used. In some downtown tunnels, cartoons depicting
an advertiser's product were inscribed on the walls of the tunnel
at the level of the cars' windows. A retail film processing outfit
called Direct Film advertised on the north wall in the
Atwater-to-Guy (now Guy-Concordia) tunnel (Green Line) during
1967-1969.
Strobe lights, aimed at the
frames of the cartoon and triggered by the passing train,
sequentially illuminated the images so that they appeared to the
viewer (passenger) on the train as a
movie.
[382831]
Today known as "tunnel movies" or "tunnel advertising," they have
been installed in many cities' subways around the world in recent
years, for example in the Southgate tube station in
London
, the
MBTA Red Line in
Boston
, MARTA in Atlanta
, the DC
Metro
, San Francisco's Montgomery Bay Area Rapid Transit station, and
on the North South MRT Line on
the Mass Rapid
Transit of Singapore.
See also
References
Notes
-
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Montreal/2009/04/27/001-metro-Laval-2-ans_n.shtml
- "Les ascenseurs des stations Lionel-Groulx et
Berri-UQAM maintenant en service." Métro (Montreal). 14
September 2009. Accessed 20 September 2009.
- Baillargeon, Stéphane. "Des ascenseurs pour cinq
stations du métro montréalais." Le Devoir. 12 June 2007.
Accessed 20 September 2009.
- http://www.metrodemontreal.com/faq/index.html
- STM societyinmotion.org
http://www.mouvementcollectif.org/SWF/?en/#/metro-cars
- STM http://www.stm.info/mc/metro_new_cars.htm
- Interview Pierre Bourgeau by SRC oct 2006
- Ville de Montréal - Plan de transport - Le
métro
- Deux nouvelles stations en vue
- Courrier Laval — Actualités — Montréal a bien
d'autres priorités
- PingMag - The Tokyo-based magazine about "Design
and Making Things" » Archive » Top 10 ad-tricks in Tokyo's train
stations
- Moving Tunnel Ads Debut in D.C. | Business
solutions from AllBusiness.com
External links
and Anjou
,
committing to the line's original design.
commuter rail station in Saint-Laurent. The
extension will probably include two stations: Poirier and Bois-Franc (an intermodal station with the
Bois-Franc Station of the Deux-Montagnes commuter line).. See also
City of Laval below.
newspapers have discussed in 2006 and 2007 plans to
extend Line 5 from
Snowdon
area of Montreal, as depicted in its original
design. A further extension to Dorval was discussed
to improve the connection between Downtown Montreal and Pierre Elliott Trudeau International
Airport
. .
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