Most Azur trains still sidelined
Like The Little Engine That Could, Montreal’s new Azur métro trains are slowly making their way back.
Three of the trains are now back in service, Montreal’s transit authority said Friday. But the Société de transport de Montréal still can’t say when the remaining 11 will be back on the rails.
The reduction in subway trains has meant longer wait times between departures and more crowded métros. The Azur cars can carry eight per cent more riders.
The 14 new trains were parked Jan. 14 after a shutdown that closed part of the Orange Line for 10 hours. After initially saying it fixed the problem and the Azurs were being put back in service, the STM on Monday admitted another issue had to be fixed.
It promised three trains would be back by Friday.
One of the trains has been in service for two weeks, while a second returned Wednesday and a third Friday, STM spokesperson Isabelle Tremblay said.
Tremblay said it’s still unclear when the remaining 11 Azur trains will be back because it will depend on when the STM can obtain the needed parts.
The latest problem involves Azur contact shoes, part of the métro’s electrical system. Interaction between the shoes and the tracks is causing “roughness” on the tracks.
That, in turn, accelerates wear
on the shoes, a problem not seen on the older MR-73 model cars.
The STM said it will replace the shoes with the type used on MR-73 trains but it will take time because the parts are custom-made.
Fifty Azur trains — 468 subway cars — are being purchased at a cost of $1.2 billion. They are scheduled to be phased into service by 2018.