Montreal Quebec - There is good news and bad news for suburban train commuters.
 
The Lucien-L'Allier train station will reopen earlier than expected for users of two of the commuter train lines, but that will mean a slightly longer delay for users of the Vaudreuil-Hudson Line.
 
On 1 Apr 2024 EXO, the operator of the region's commuter train lines, shut down the station.
 
It was expected that the Vaudreuil-Hudson line would return to the station after six months, and the Candiac and St-Jerome lines in the spring of 2025.
 
In a statement published Tuesday, EXO said that overall the work on the project has gone better than expected, and as a result all three of the train lines will be returned to Lucien-L'Allier later this fall.
 
An exact date has not been nailed down, but EXO spokesperson Catherine Maurice said the train authority expects to make an announcement in the coming weeks.
 
The $31-million project consists of:

• Rebuilding the station's four platforms, as they have reached the end of their life;
   
  
• Bringing the systems and infrastructures up to standard;
   
  
• Adding canopies above the platforms to improve client comfort;
   
  
• Adding two emergency exits at Argyle Avenue and De la Montagne Street;
   
  
• Extending Track 6 to improve traffic flow and flexibility at the site.

When the work is completed, the Lucien-L'Allier station will be outfitted with mechanized platforms that will allow wheelchairs to board the trains.
 
However, other stations on the train lines leaving from Lucien-L'Allier are not universally accessible.
 
EXO is embarking on a long-term project to make all its stations and trains accessible to people in wheelchairs.
 
Maurice pointed out that this is the first major renovation to the train station since Montreal hosted the Olympics in 1976.
 
Before it was closed, roughly 7,000 trips were taken to or from the Lucien-L'Allier station on an average day.
 
Since the station was closed, users of Vaudreuil-Hudson and Candiac lines had their last stop at the Vendome intermodal station, forcing them to use the metro's Orange Line to get to their final destination.
 
Most of the trains on the St-Jerome line start or end at the Montreal-Ouest station, while others start or end at the Parc station.
 
Commuters can also get off at De La Concorde, but EXO says that option is less ideal because of the potential for heavy traffic on the east branch of the metro's Orange Line.
 
Jason Magder.