Let’s get moving again on the Train de l’ouest

With the election of a Liberal government, hopes have revived that the Train de l’ouest will yet get on track.

There has been much talk for some years now about improving commuter-rail service to the West Island and the booming off-island suburbs west of Montreal Island, but a notable lack of progress on what would be a worthy undertaking.

There have been studies. The first such study was commissioned by the previous Liberal administration in 2006. It looked into the costs involved in improving train service to both the West Island and Trudeau airport. Its sensible conclusion was that the ideal solution would be one train service for both needs, at an estimated cost of $874 million, as opposed to a $1.3-billion price tag for separate lines.

The same government commissioned yet another study in 2011, budgeting $22 million for the exercise. Instructions were to outline challenges the project would face and include preliminary engineering plans. After repeated delays, that study is said to be finally complete, but full details have yet to be made public.

As envisaged by proponents, the Train de l’Ouest project would significantly upgrade service on the Vaudreuil-Hudson commuter service, which shares tracks owned by Canadian Pacific with freight trains. It would require the installation of dedicated commuter tracks and improvement of stations along the way.

Part of the problem in getting the project underway has been disagreements between the Agence métropolitaine de transport and Aéroports de Montréal about a route or a downtown terminal and whether there should be separate commuter service and an airport rail shuttle. While it might be nice to have both, financial constraints are such that the two will have to come to agreement on a single line. This is what the Parti Québécois government maintained should be the case, and it is also what is envisaged by premierelect Philippe Couillard.

The reason for renewed hope that the Train de l’Ouest will roll sometime in the conceivable future is that Couillard has firmly committed himself to the project. He endorsed it as early as last fall, saying that commuters from Greater Montreal’s western regions need a dedicated rail line to get them efficiently downtown, and he further suggested that such a line should be able to service the airport.

He reiterated his commitment during the campaign in a CBC Radio interview, saying, “The Train de l’Ouest is definitely on top of our priority list. It will happen.”

Just when it will happen remains unclear. The $1-billion estimated price tag is daunting, but the need for the project is evident. About 300,000 people commute from western neighbourhoods to downtown on a daily basis and there will be more in years to come as the West Island population grows.

At the same time, the Turcot Interchange reconfiguration will increasingly cause gridlock that improved train service could greatly alleviate.

It is perhaps understandable that the project was not a priority for the PQ administration, given the West Island’s voting record. But for that same reason, this new Liberal administration should feel honour-bound to hold to its leader’s promise.