Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT) president Joël Gauthier and local MNAs announced a series of improvements to commuter rail services in the area today, looking to get on the offensive about avoiding a rough winter season like last year.
Electronic billboards that dynamically update schedule changes while passengers wait will be premiered at two West Island train stations, 65 double-decker cars with more leg room will get on the line as of April 2010, and new heating mechanisms should also prevent freezing problems that plagued the system during subzero temperatures last year, officials announced.
"Our top priority is not to give out refunds," said Gauthier, in reference to a drastic measure undertaken by the agency last winter when complaints kept piling up, "it's to provide reliable services."
The electronic billboards, which should be at Beaconsfield and Pointe Claire stations by January 2010, as well as three others on the Dorion-Rigaud line, will remain up to date thanks to being directly linked with GPS devices installed on trains. The transit authority wants to have billboards at all of its stations by the end of next year.
Each car among the new double-deckers being designed by Bombardier will have bathrooms, as well as hold 142 seats, said Gauthier, and allow standing room for 158 more people. This would lead to a 55 per cent space increase over current single-decker cars.
The improvements come largely thanks to a $159 million investment by the provincial government.
"We understand the frustration of the people," said Jacque Cartier Liberal MNA Geoffrey Kelley.
He related how, sometimes, sitting in Quebec City's National Assembly , he would receive instantaneous e-mails by frustrated constituents stuck at the Vendôme train station in the west end. "When will I get home, Mr. Kelley?" They would ask him.
He said West Islanders more comfortable in English rather than French would be happy to know the AMT is making a big push toward bilingualism in its communications, including on-board announcements.
Kelley also said efforts would be made to keep train station buildings open for commuters stuck waiting in subzero temperatures, so that they could at least wait inside. "It's not pleasant when you're waiting outside in the winter in a minus 20 temperature," he said, drawing a chuckle among the handful of people gathered under a tent in the parking lot of the Vaudreuil-Dorion train station, where the conference took place, as a cold wind blew.
Marquette, Vaudreuil, and Soulanges MNAs François Ouimet, Yvon Marcoux and Lucie Charlebois were also on-hand.
Some commuters at the Beaconsfield train station hopping on and off the train this afternoon were impressed with the measures that were announced.
"I think it's a good idea," said Guillaume Plamondon-Thériault, a Vaudreuil-Dorion resident, of the electronic billboards, adding they would help people decide what to do in case there was a large delay.
He also praised the extra leg room that would be offered thanks to the double-deckers, though he said he does not tend to take the train during rush hour.
"It's usually very cramped," said Emma Roy, a Kirkland resident, on her way to a nearby bus stop from the train station, also welcoming the additional space.
Natasha Lappas, of Kirkland as well, was enthused about the billboards. "At least that would be better than that loudspeaker that sounds like it's from the 1950s," she said.
However, Elizabeth Kovacs, who recently moved to Pierrefonds/Roxboro, was skeptical of the measures being implemented. "They said that two years ago," she said of the double-decker buses, "and we never got them."
She said the lack of information about train delays was a problem for her last year, and did not seem that enthusiastic about the billboard system either.
"Even third-world countries have better train cars than us," she said, adding the state of services in Montreal is pitiful.
