The Blue Line (french: Ligne bleue) is one of the four lines of the
Montreal Metro
The Montreal Metro (french: Métro de Montréal) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec, Canada. It was the fourth to be built, notwithstanding its alternate official name of "Line 5" (
Line 3 was planned, but never built). Unlike the other three routes, the Blue Line does not serve the city's main Metro junction at
Berri-UQAM.
The line is served by a single yard located between Parc and de Castelnau stations which is completely underground and occupies a small portion underneath Jarry Park. Another service facility is located at the 500-metre end tracks following Snowdon station, but is rarely used by the
Société de transport de Montréal
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM; en, Montreal Transit Corporation) is a public transport agency that operates transit bus and rapid transit services in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1861 as the "Montreal City Passenger Ra ...
(STM).
History
Construction of
Snowdon
Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...
station began in 1975, with two platform levels. In 1979, the provincial government decided to build the Blue Line. On 16 June 1986 the first section opened, between
Saint-Michel to
De Castelnau.
That was followed by the section from De Castelnau to
Parc on 15 June 1987 and Parc to Snowdon on 4 January 1988. The opening of the intermediate station
Acadie was delayed for almost three months and occurred on 28 March 1988. Other planned extensions at both ends of the route have so far been omitted for financial reasons.
Proposed extensions
The former ''Agence métropolitaine de transport'' (AMT, now
ARTM) published a study, ''Vision 2020'', in December 2011. According to it, the Blue Line will be extended northeast of Saint-Michel to
Anjou Anjou may refer to:
Geography and titles France
*County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou
**Count of Anjou, title of nobility
*Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France
**Duke ...
. There were a total of five planned new stations: Pie-IX, Viau, Lacordaire, Langelier and Anjou. The terminus would be located at the
Galeries d'Anjou
Galeries d'Anjou (formerly "CF Galeries d'Anjou") is a shopping mall located in the borough of Anjou in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Major tenants include Hudson's Bay, Simons, The Brick, Saks Off 5th, Winners and Sports Experts/Atmosphere. In addi ...
shopping centre, near the junction of
Autoroute 25 and
Autoroute 40. On 20 September 2013, a 7-km extension northeast to St. Leonard and Anjou was announced by the STM and the Quebec government. The provincial government announced that the extension would proceed and committed $38.8 million to set up a "Project Office" tasked with preparing detailed financial and technical plans within two years. The start of construction start was slated for 2021, with completion in 2025.
On 28 May 2014, it was announced that the project would be reviewed by the new provincial government and that if the project was accepted again, construction would start in 2021, which was confirmed by the STM's new 2025 Plan.
, STM's preliminary schedule shows that construction could begin in 2021, enabling the new section to open in 2027. Federal funding is expected to cover 40% of the cost.
Another proposed expansion involves extending the Blue Line southwest from Snowdon, which would serve
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ( en, Our Lady of Grace), also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, ...
,
Côte-Saint-Luc, and
Montreal West
Montreal West (French: Montréal-Ouest) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburb in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Island of Montreal.
Montreal West is a small, close-knit community made up primarily of single-family dwellings. The town is ...
. That Metro extension has been put on hold indefinitely.
The
Édouard-Montpetit station
Édouard-Montpetit is a Montreal Metro station in of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and serves the Blue Line. It is located in the Côte-des-Neiges area of the borough of Côte-des-Neige ...
is near the northern entrance of the
Mount Royal Tunnel
The Mount Royal Tunnel (french: tunnel sous le mont Royal, tunnel du mont Royal) is a railway tunnel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The tunnel is the third longest in Canada, after the Mount Macdonald Tunnel and the Connaught Tunnel, and connects t ...
. Plans to link the station to the AMT's
Deux-Montagnes line
Deux-Montagnes or Two Mountains Line (also designated exo6 and formerly Red Line) was formerly a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was owned by Exo, the organization that operates public transport services across this ...
were not pursued because the difference in height between the two levels is 50 m. In April 2016, the interchange received renewed interest as part of the proposed
Réseau express métropolitain
The Réseau express métropolitain (REM; en, Metropolitan Express Network) is a light metro rapid transit system under construction in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. When completed in 2025, the system will link several Montreal suburbs and ...
, which will replace the Deux-Montagnes line with
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
.
Future extension
The proposed Metro Blue Line extension to St. Leonard and Anjou was announced in September 2013 but was not pursued because of the defeat of the
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
government in 2014. However, on 9 April 2018, it was announced that both the provincial and the federal governments had made a final commitment to fund and complete the extension. The work is slated to begin in 2023 and to be completed in 2029.
Rolling stock
![A MR-73 on the blue line](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/A_MR-73_on_the_blue_line.jpg)
Since 1986, Blue Line trains are made up of
MR-73
The MR-73 (''M''atériel ''r''oulant conçu en 19''73'') is the second generation of rubber-tired rolling stock used on the Montreal Metro. Since the retirement of the first generation MR-63s, the MR-73 trains are in use on three of Montreal's f ...
cars. Each train consists of two segments of three cars, shorter than the Green, Orange, and Yellow Line trains, which all comprise three segments of three cars, for a total of nine cars. Some nine-car
MR-73
The MR-73 (''M''atériel ''r''oulant conçu en 19''73'') is the second generation of rubber-tired rolling stock used on the Montreal Metro. Since the retirement of the first generation MR-63s, the MR-73 trains are in use on three of Montreal's f ...
trains were transferred from the Orange to the Blue Line, but these had to be shortened to six-car configurations.
List of stations
See also
*
Green Line
Green Line may refer to:
Places Military and political
* Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II
* Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours
** City Line ( ...
*
Orange Line
*
Yellow Line
*
Red Line (Line 3)
*
List of Montreal Metro stations
References
External links
2008 STM System Map
{{Montreal Metro navbox
Rapid transit lines in Canada