12 April 2009
Pick a Route to the Airport
Montreal Quebec - A train shuttle between Trudeau
airport in Dorval and downtown has been on the drawing board since international flights were transferred from Mirabel to Dorval in
1997.
Yet nothing has happened. But that's about to change.
As traffic on Highway 20 between Dorval and downtown has become worse, the shuttle project has moved to the top of the list for
infrastructure funding.
Governments are standing by with wads of money in their outstretched hands. But the shuttle project has been stuck in the planning
process. Decision makers have been unable to pick between two railway corridors. The two options are:
The existing Canadian Pacific right of way, which carries the Dorion-Rigaud commuter train and CP freight trains.
The Canadian National corridor that serves VIA Rail passenger trains, as well as CN freight trains.
Depending on which route is selected, the implications will be significant for Westmount, Notre Dame de Grace, and Montreal West, or
for Griffintown, Point St. Charles, and St. Henri. The latest estimates for creating the link range from $475 million to $800 million.
The decision is in the hands of a steering committee, which is led by Aeroports de Montreal and the Agence metropolitaine de transport.
The provincial government has made it clear that it wants a consensus on a route by June at the latest - or else the government will
decide, a provincial Transport Department official confirmed to the Gazette recently.
The steering committee, which includes representation from all three levels of government, has been receiving advice from top North
American railway consultants and a local advisory committee with broad representation from downtown and the West Island.
No public hearings have been held, although planners have had private meetings with elected officials and with representatives of
community organizations.
The steering committee and its advisers are to hold two more meetings - this month and next month.
Once a route is chosen, environmental-impact hearings will be held, then construction will begin. At present, 2015 looks
like the earliest likely completion date. In February, a $224-million plan was made public to modernize Dorval Circle by
2013. That plan calls for new direct road links between Highway 20 and the airport that bypass the circle, among other things.
The new train shuttle will not run on existing tracks. Instead, new tracks will be laid beside existing tracks, regardless of which
route is chosen.
Although both the CP and CN rights of way appear to be tight for space, authorities say there's plenty of room for new tracks on both.
The two rights of way are beside one another in the West Island. But they start to separate just west of Highway 13.
The CP line runs through the Montreal West and Vendome stations before ending up at the Lucien L'Allier terminus beside the Bell
Centre. The CN line runs through Ville St. Pierre, St. Henri, Point St. Charles, and Griffintown before ending up at Central Station.
Because this line currently does not carry any commuter trains, there are no commuter stations on it. But if the CN corridor is chosen
for the shuttle, new commuter stations will open up, linking neighbourhoods along the line by rail to the airport and
downtown.
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