STM can’t trap train heat
Warm air generated by the métro is used to heat the stations, writes Jason Magder
Q: Métro trains give off a lot of heat. Has the STM ever considered fitting the tunnels or stations with heat exchangers to heat neighbouring buildings? Anthony van Osch, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
A: You are correct about the métro giving off heat. In fact, the original builders of the system underestimated how much heat the trains would give off, and they equipped drivers’ cabins with heaters. The heat, combined with inadequate ventilation, made the underground tunnel system very hot in the first months of operation, according to the book Le Métro de Montréal: 35 ans déjà by Benoit Clairoux. This caused a driver to pass out from the heat in the first year the métro opened, on a day when it was more than 30 C outside; the train crashed into the wall at what was then called Berri-de-Montigny station. Damage was minimal, but the incident caused engineers to add more ventilation shafts, turn off the heaters in the trains, and add air conditioning to drivers’ cabs.
Because of the heat given off by the trains, there are no heaters in the stations, said Isabelle Tremblay, a spokesperson for the Société de transport de Montréal. The trains heat the stations in the winter, Tremblay said, so it is used up entirely and can’t be transferred to another source. Only during the summer period is heat ventilated.
Tremblay pointed out that the heat in the stations isn’t evenly distributed, so it would be difficult to modify equipment to trap and then transport that heat. Q: My condo faces Cabot Square, which is also a Société de transport de Montréal bus terminal. The buses stop at Lambert-Closse St. (in front of the building) and often leave their the engines running while waiting to go to their bus stops around the square. This is a real issue, especially at night, when sometimes you have three buses at the same time parked, with engines running, causing noise pollution and air pollution. I contacted STM. They claimed they sent an inspector, but everything was fine. Nothing changed since I made the complaint in January. A: Atwater is one of the largest terminuses with 16 buses that leave from it, including nine night buses, Tremblay said. The noise can be especially problematic at the busiest time of the day around 1 a.m., when day buses finish and night buses begin.
The problem is aggravated during the cold weather, because buses are permitted to leave their engines running when it’s colder than -10 C to keep the vehicles warm. During the warmer spring weather, drivers are reminded about the rules for leaving the engines of their buses running.
Tremblay said there used to be a waiting area for buses that was closer to Cabot Square. When the square was redone recently, that zone was eliminated and buses have had to wait on Lambert-Closse.