Type Commuter rail Ridership 3,763,500 (2014) Locale Greater Montreal Stations 18 | Daily ridership 16,300 (2014) Line number VH Operator Canadian Pacific Railway | |
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System Agence métropolitaine de transport Website AMT - Vaudreuil-Hudson line Terminis Lucien-L'Allier, Vaudreuil, Hudson | ||
The Vaudreuil–Hudson line (formerly the Dorion–Rigaud line) is a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), the umbrella organization that plans, integrates, and coordinates public transport services across this region.
Contents
The Vaudreuil–Hudson Line was originally established in 1887 as a Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) passenger service. It was transferred to Société de transport de Montréal (STCUM) on October 1, 1982. It was refurbished between 1982 and 1990. On January 1, 1996, it was transferred to the AMT.
There are 13 inbound and 14 outbound departures each weekday.
Overview
This line links the Lucien-L'Allier station in downtown Montreal with Hudson to the west of the Island of Montreal. With the completion of a new Intermodal station in Vaudreuil, all trains that used to end in Dorion, now end in Vaudreuil.
The line offers frequent peak-hour service (roughly every 15-20 minutes) to or from Vaudreuil. Outside of rush hours and on weekends, service is approximately every two to five hours. There is only one weekday round trip from the Hudson terminus. This is the only line in Montreal to offer semi-express service; reverse peak trains do not stop at certain smaller stations.
The trains are owned and managed by the Agence métropolitaine de transport, and operated by Canadian Pacific.
History
Service on this line started in 1887. Service began with local stops between Montreal and Rigaud being added to trains running between Montreal and Ottawa. Over time, as the population of the western part of the Island of Montreal increased, Canadian Pacific established a dedicated commuter service with several stops on the Island of Montreal and off the western tip of the Island. Over the past 50 years, service patterns on the line have not changed all that much. The average number of weekday round trips has hovered around 12, with weekend and holiday service averaging 3 or 4 trips depending on whether the day is Saturday or Sunday.
The commuter line was owned and operated by Canadian Pacific until October 1, 1982. On that date, management and ownership of the commuter trains was transferred to the publicly owned Montreal Urban Community Transit Commission (STCUM). The STCUM set fares and schedules, and assumed ownership of the equipment (passenger cars and locomotives) that Canadian Pacific had used to operate the service. Canadian Pacific continued to provide the tracks, stations, storage, maintenance, and train crews needed to keep the line running. For Montreal commuters, the transfer of ownership was positive because the trains were integrated into the bus and metro system. Over time, the commuter line was upgraded with the purchase of new equipment and renovated stations. The line was transferred to the newly formed AMT on January 1, 1996.
On July 1, 2010, service to Rigaud was discontinued, as the town of Rigaud was unable to justify a $300,000 annual fee, almost double the previous annual fee of $160,000 required by the AMT to maintain train service for a handful of users. The line now ends at Hudson; the 13-km distance between Rigaud and Hudson represented some 17% of the line's total length. At this time the line was renamed: "Dorion" was replaced by "Vaudreuil" in reference to the terminus for most runs, and "Rigaud" was replaced by "Hudson" in reference to the terminus for the extended service.
Future projects
To ease over-crowding and attract new users the AMT, Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), Transport Canada and Via Rail have jointly developed a wide-ranging proposal that includes the enhancement of commuter train and inter-city train service between Downtown Montreal and the West Island of Montreal. The Train de l'Ouest proposed rail shuttle between Trudeau airport and downtown Montreal would make the trip in under 20 minutes and have departures every 20 minutes. This 20 km (12 mi) long route would be built in a right of way reserved for passenger trains, which will accelerate access to the airport from the downtown core. The choice of final downtown destination would be Central Station. The expected end date for the entire project is 2020.
List of stations
The commuter line operates over the following Canadian Pacific Railway subdivisions: