Exo Commuter Rail

Exo commuter rail (reporting marks EXO) is a system of five radial commuter rail services serving the Greater Montreal area, operated by Alstom, using trackage owned by Exo as well as by the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

Exo's commuter trains are its highest-profile division. It uses diesel-electric push-pull trains. The Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Mascouche lines run on Canadian National trackage and operate out of Central Station, while the Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme, and Candiac lines run on Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) trackage and operate out of Lucien L'Allier terminus, beside the historic Windsor Station. The Saint-Jérôme line also runs on CPKC trackage and on Exo's own trackage between Sainte-Thérèse and Saint-Jérôme.

Operation of all commuter rail was provided by contract to CN and CP (on their respective rail networks) until June 30, 2017. Operations were taken over by Alstom (then Bombardier Transportation) beginning July 1, 2017, on an 8-year contract.

The train lines are part of Greater Montreal's integrated public transit network including bus, regional rail (REM) and Metro, coordinated by the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM). Many train stations serve local bus terminals, and a few provide connections to Metro, REM and Via Rail and Amtrak national rail services.

History

Takeover from private rail operators

Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) had long operated commuter trains in the Montreal area, but by the 1980s, their services had dwindled to one route each. The (CTCUM, predecessor of the STM), which already managed Metro and bus services across the Island of Montreal, assumed management of CN's Deux-Montagnes commuter service and CP's Rigaud service in 1982 as the two railways began scaling back their services.

In 1997, management and financing of both lines was transferred to the newly created (AMT), which had been established to distribute funding and coordinate transportation planning among the numerous transit operators throughout the Greater Montreal Region.

Service expansion

Later that year, the AMT inaugurated service between Blainville and Jean-Talon (now Parc) train station in Montreal's Park Extension district. Originally, the service was designed to provide a temporary alternative for motorists from Laval and the North Shore of Montreal, while the Highway 117 Dufresne Bridge was being repaired. The service proved to be so popular that the AMT continued to fund it, and even extended a number of trains to the Lucien-L'Allier station downtown in 1999, and continues to provide off-peak daytime weekday service on this line. The service was extended further north to Saint-Jérôme in January 2007.

In 2000, the AMT inaugurated its service to McMasterville, and later extended it to Mont-Saint-Hilaire in September 2002.

In 2001, the AMT initiated a pilot project, launching service on a fifth line to Delson. This was later extended to Candiac in 2005.

A new (East Train) line to Mascouche was announced by the Quebec government in March 2006. After delays and cost overruns, it started service in December 2014.

In 2014, the AMT acquired the entire Deux-Montagnes line from CN, including the right of way, infrastructure, trackage, other railway equipment, grounds, curb lanes, rights in the Mount Royal tunnel and air rights, in a $97 million transaction.

Creation of Exo

On June 1, 2017, the AMT was disbanded in a reorganization of metropolitan transit authorities. A new agency, the (RTM) was created to be responsible for operating commuter rail and suburban transit services. In May 2018, the RTM adopted the Exo brand (stylized ''exo'', all-lowercase), to represent the sub- and exurban nature of its service area.

In 2019, Exo proceeded to rebrand all of its lines with numbers in the format "exo1", "exo2", etc. When the ARTM launched its new metropolitan signage in 2023, Exo renumbered the lines again starting at "11". It also adopted a new logo for train service in a distinctive colour to differentiate from other rapid transit services, rolling out progressively on signage since 2020.

Alignment with the new REM

The construction of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) led initially to the closure of the Mount Royal Tunnel in May 2020, causing the Deux-Montagnes lines to terminate at Bois-Franc station, and the Mascouche line was rerouted around the Western end of Montreal in order to reach Central Station from the south. On December 31, 2020, the Deux-Montagnes line was closed permanently for conversion to the REM.

In May 2023, Exo announced that Lucien-L'Allier terminal would be closed starting April 2024 to rebuild the platforms and add a canopy. Trains on the Candiac, Vaudreuil-Hudson and Saint-Jérôme lines would terminate at Vendôme.

Lines

Fares

Exo services operate within the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM)'s integrated fare structure for Greater Montreal. Trains on the network operate within zones A, B and C. ''All Modes'' fares include passage on the commuter rail network through the zones covered.

As of 2024, the fare schedule still includes TRAIN fares applying the old AMT fare zones that are valid only on commuter rail lines.

There are no fare gates at train stations. Instead, a proof-of-payment system is used, where riders are expected to validate their ticket on the platform. Fare inspectors randomly check tickets. Tickets and passes are now sold by automated vending machines at stations, either onto an Opus card or a cardboard Occassionel card.

Funding

Financing for the rail network's operations (including maintenance, rolling stock, equipment and salaries) is handled by Exo, which is funded primarily by the Agence régionale du transport métropolitain.

Rolling stock

Exo has a variety of rolling stock, some of it acquired from GO Transit, the rest built specifically for it. There are a total of 256 cars and locomotives in the fleet.

Locomotives

Current locomotives

Future locomotives

On January 28, 2022, Exo announced that it had ordered 10 Siemens Charger locomotives to replace the older F59PH locomotives in their fleet. On January 17, 2025, the first unit was delivered and will begin tests. The remaining locomotives will be gradually delivered throughout 2025.

Retired locomotives

Passenger cars

Current coaches

Future coaches

Retired coaches

=Other retired rolling stock

=

Further details

The 22 bilevel coaches are in operation on the Saint-Jérôme line. The AMT did not purchase additional bilevels as it sought to standardize its train fleet with the arrival of the multi-level coaches. However, 20 additional bilevels were purchased by the RTM in March 2018.

On December 18, 2007, the AMT awarded Bombardier a $386-million contract to build 160 multi-level commuter cars. These cars are based on NJ Transit's Multilevel series, and are able to enter the Mount Royal Tunnel, unlike the older GO-style BiLevel cars. They are numbered in the 3000s.

See also

* Exo bus services
* Réseau express métropolitain

References

External links

{{Canadian passenger rail systems

Exo (public transit)
Standard-gauge railways in Canada