freight strike could halt three exo commuter train lines as of thursday
alternate buses are being planned. but the transit authority says that service won't be able to handle the full ridership of the vaudreuil/hudson, st-jérôme and candiac trains.
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the cpkc rail network is used by three exo train lines — vaudreuil/hudson, st-jérôme and candiac.
john mahoney
/
montreal gazette files
montreal’s commuter train authority is scrambling to set up alternate bus services for three commuter train lines that could be affected by a looming strike at canadian pacific kansas city railway.
the union representing thousands of workers at cpkc, a freight railway company, has given a strike notice. employees are set to walk out on thursday at 12:01 a.m.
the possible disruption could come at the busiest time of the year at exo, with summer vacations ending and students returning to classrooms.
the cpkc rail network is used by three exo train lines — vaudreuil/hudson, st-jérôme and candiac.
“if a strike or a lockout is declared and the cpkc rail traffic controllers are a part of it, none of (those) three lines will be in operation,” said exo spokesperson eric edström.
exo announced tuesday it would put in place shuttle buses on the three affected line as of monday (see details below).
however, “the bus shuttles … will not be able to replace the entire service of the three affected train lines, especially during the back-to-school period.”
about 21,000 rides per day are taken on the three affected lines.
edström said exo’s “efforts will be focused on providing service during rush hour.”
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the authority is urging train users to explore alternative routes using exo’s regular bus service or the services of the société de transport de montréal and société de transport de laval.
commuters can consult exo’s online trip planner at exo.quebec/en/trip-planner. they should uncheck the train option when using the planner.
a strike is also on the horizon for canadian national, with the freight railway company warning that it may lock out workers as of thursday.
but edström said that labour dispute will not affect two exo lines that use cn tracks — mont-st-hilaire and mascouche.
cn authorities have told exo that commuter trains running on the cn network would not be affected by a strike, he said.
that’s because cn rail traffic controllers are not among the trades affected by the dispute.
commuters took more than 6.1 million trips on exo trains in 2023. exo’s two busiest lines — vaudreuil/hudson and st-jérôme — accounted for 70 per cent of rides.
the réseau express métropolitain light-rail network would also not be affected by a labour dispute at cn or ckpc, the agency that runs it confirmed tuesday.
exo mitigation measures
shuttle buses
coach-style buses (which will not accept bicycles) will be made available for free during weekday rush hours on the following schedule, starting monday, aug. 26:
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- line 11 (vaudreuil-hudson)
- shuttle 1, from vaudreuil station (platform 13) to côte-vertu métro station (platform 21), from 5 a.m. to 8:50 a.m., and back from 3:15 p.m. to 7:20 p.m.
- shuttle 2, between dorion station (platform 11) and vaudreuil station (platform 11) from 4:50 a.m. to 8:20 a.m., and from dorion station to pincourt station from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- line 12 (st-jérôme)
- shuttle 1, from st-jérôme station to cartier métro station (platform 13), from 5 a.m. to 8:50 a.m., and back from 3:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.
- shuttle 2, from mirabel station to blainville station and cartier métro station from 5 a.m. to 8:15 a.m., and back from 3:35 p.m. to 7:05 p.m.
- shuttle 3, from rosemère station to cartier métro station (platform 13) from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., and back from 4:10 p.m. to 6:40 p.m.
- line 14 (candiac)
- shuttle 1, from ste-catherine station to brossard rem station (platform 2) from 5 a.m. to 8:40 a.m., and back from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- shuttle 2, from st-constant station to delson station and brossard rem station (platform 1) from 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and back from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- shuttle 3, from candiac station to brossard rem station (platform 1) from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and back from 3:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
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exo train station parking lots will remain open and ticket machines will remain online, however ticket validators will be deactivated.
existing alternative routes
routes marked in bold connect to a métro or rem station
- line 11 (vaudreuil-hudson)
- hudson: exo bus 21 (to vaudreuil station)
- vaudreuil: exo bus 40
- dorion: exo buses 15 and 40
- pincourt: exo buses 15, 35 and 40
- Île-perrot: exo buses 15, 35 and 40
- ste-anne-de-bellevue: stm bus 212 and exo buses 35, 44, 45 and 335
- baie-d’urfé: stm bus 411
- beaurepaire: stm bus 411
- beaconsfield: stm buses 200, 201, 217, 401, 411 and 425
- cedar park: stm buses 201, 202 and 485
- pointe-claire: stm buses 203, 211, 405, 411 and 425
- valois: stm buses 202, 203, 204
- pine beach: stm buses 204, 211, 411 and 425
- dorval: stm buses 191, 195, 202, 203, 204, 209, 211, 405, 411, 425, 460, 485, 495 and 496
- lachine: no alternatives — closest stm bus is 195 on sherbrooke st.
- montréal-ouest: stm buses 51, 105, 123, 162
- vendôme: métro orange line, stm buses 17, 37, 90, 102, 104, 105, 124
- line 12 (st-jérôme)
- st-jérôme: exo bus 9
- blainville: exo buses 9, 71 and 72
- ste-thérèse: exo bus 9
- rosemère: exo buses 9, 22, 24 and 28
- ste-rose: stl buses 63, 65 and 73
- vimont: stl buses 27 and 45
- de la concorde: métro orange line, stl buses 2, 33, 37 and 42
- bois-de-boulogne: stm buses 135, 164, 171, 180
- chabanel: stm buses 19, 54, 135, 146
- parc: métro blue line, stm buses 16, 80, 92, 93, 480
- montréal-ouest: stm buses 51, 105, 123, 162
- vendôme: métro orange line, stm buses 17, 37, 90, 102, 104, 105, 124
- line 14 (candiac)
- candiac: exo buses 146, 147, 459, 650 and 651
- delson: exo buses 152, 554, 650 and 651
- st-constant: exo buses 153, 554, 650 and 651
- ste-catherine: exo buses 156, 157, 552, 554, 650 and 651
- lasalle: stm buses 110 and 495
- du canal: stm buses 90, 191, 195, 491
- montréal-ouest: stm buses 51, 105, 123, 162
- vendôme: métro orange line, stm buses 17, 37, 90, 102, 104, 105, 124
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transit fare exchange
people who have train-only fare tickets remaining will be able to exchange them for 10 “all modes ab” or “all modes abc” tickets, allowing them to use the bus, métro or rem in those zones. for aug. 22 and 23, monthly train-only tickets and passes will be accepted in exo buses, at the brossard rem station and cartier and côte-vertu métro stations. as of aug. 24, only monthly train-only passes will be accepted at these locations.
little impact on via rail
cpkc also owns rail infrastructure used by via rail intercity trains.
in a statement to the gazette, the national passenger rail service said a cpkc strike would compel it to suspend service between sudbury and white river in ontario.
via said it’s currently working with cpkc to maintain access to a one-kilometre section of cpkc tracks in smiths falls used by via’s ottawa-toronto train.
no other via services would be affected by a cpkc strike, via said.
via said a work stoppage at cn would not affect its operations.
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