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Saint-Jérôme (also designated line 12, formerly known as Blainville–Saint-Jérôme and Montreal–Blainville) is a
commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
service in
Greater Montreal Greater Montreal (, ) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with a population of 4,02 ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. It is operated by
Exo Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...
, the organization that operates
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
services across this region. The Saint-Jérôme line was operated by the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
(CPR) between 1882 and 1981. The line was not active until Exo's predecessor agency, the Agence Métropolitaine de transport (AMT), resumed passenger service in 1997. There are 14 inbound and 14 outbound departures each weekday. There are six departures on Saturday and Sunday, although these trains terminate at De La Concorde station with connection to De La Concorde Metro station, instead of continuing to Parc or Lucien-L'Allier Station.


Overview

This line links the Lucien-L'Allier station in
Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...
with
Saint-Jérôme Saint-Jérôme () ( 2021 population 80,213) is a suburban city located about northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord. It is part of the North Shore sector of Greater Montreal. It is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its reso ...
, on Montreal's North Shore. More than 2000
Park and Ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...
spaces are available for commuters. The line offers 14 inbound and outbound trains per day on weekdays and 6 inbound and outbound trains per day on weekends and civic holidays. The frequency of service is 25–45 minutes during rush hour and every one to two hours outside of rush hour. , all weekday trains terminate at or originate from Lucien-L'Allier station, except for three inbound and three outbound trains daily which terminate or originate at Parc station. On weekends, all trains terminate and originate at De La Concorde station. As of 2023, more than 5,700 people ride the line daily.


History


CP Service

The line between Montreal and Saint-Jérôme was built in 1876 by the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway (QMOO), which was owned by the
Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...
. In 1881, it was sold to Canadian Pacific along with the line on the north shore of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, between Quebec City and Ottawa. CP operated Le petit train du nord, the Ottawa train via Lachute, the Quebec train via Trois-Rivières as well as the Sainte-Thérèse RDC train along this route between 1882 and 1979. Le petit train du nord formerly extended northwards beyond Saint-Jerome, into the ski hills of the
Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains, also known as the Laurentians or Laurentides, are a mountain range in Canada. The range is long and ranges in height from with peaks over . The Laurentian Mountains extend across Labrador and Quebec within the Laurent ...
and then
Mont-Laurier Mont-Laurier () is a town and incorporated municipality in western Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Lièvre River (''Rivière du Lièvre''), a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the "Capital of the Haute-Laurentides", the motto o ...
; this latter section was later converted into the Parc Linéaire Le P'tit Train du Nord
rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...
in the 1990s.


AMT Service

The Montreal–Blainville line was originally opened in July 1997 and was supposed to serve commuters during major repair work on the . In its early years, the AMT Blainville train was composed of a GP9 locomotive and four Canadian Vickers
Gallery Car The Gallery Car is a bilevel rail car, originally created by the Pullman Company as the Pullman Gallery Car. It has had five total different manufacturers since its creation, including Budd Company, Budd, St. Louis Car Company, Amerail, Nippon S ...
s. Although it offered only three departures per day (two peak, one reverse peak), it instantly became very successful. In 1997, there were only four stations: Blainville, Sainte-Thérèse, Saint-Martin, and Jean-Talon (now Parc). The stations were merely wooden platforms with gravel parking lots; not too much money was spent because the line was not supposed to become permanent. Service increased in September 1997 to six departures per day (four peak, two reverse peak) and stations were added at Sainte-Rose and Henri-Bourassa (now Bois-de-Boulogne), the line had become permanent. The Rosemère station at Rosemère was built in 1998. To make the operation successful, buses were used to carry passengers from areas around the stations in Blainville and Sainte-Thérèse. These buses came from the CIT des Basses-Laurentides (now CIT Laurentides). In
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, STCUM (now STM) buses were used from the Jean-Talon Station to downtown Montreal ( Guy-Concordia) metro station (The 935 Trainbus Blainville / Centreville). In 1999, the STCUM had problems with a number of buses in their
Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
LFS fleet, pulling them off the roads completely. To cope with the situation the AMT decided to extend the service from Parc metro directly downtown to Gare Windsor (now Lucien-L'Allier Terminus). A little later, a stop was added at Vendôme station, to provide an interchange with the
Montreal Metro The Montreal Metro (, ) 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, 1966, during the tenure ...
's Orange Line. In late 2003, a stop was added at Montréal-Ouest. Trains previously passed through the station without stopping. Following the De la Concorde Overpass collapse in Laval in October 2006, the AMT opened the temporary station Vimont on Bellerose Boulevard in anticipation of increased ridership. The AMT also leased eight Bombardier BiLevel Coaches and one F59PH
locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...
from
GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...
to allow for additional trains in the short term. In November the highway was re-opened, and the leased train set was returned to GO Transit, but the Vimont station became a permanent stop on the line. On January 8, 2007, the line was extended from Blainville to
Saint-Jérôme Saint-Jérôme () ( 2021 population 80,213) is a suburban city located about northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord. It is part of the North Shore sector of Greater Montreal. It is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its reso ...
, the new Chabanel station was also opened, and a new schedule was released. As a result, only 10 round trips are made per day, instead of 11. On April 28, 2007, along with the opening of the Orange Line's extension to Laval, the De La Concorde station was opened. The Saint-Martin station was closed because of its proximity to De La Concorde. In 2013, work was completed to double the track between Sainte-Rose station and Saint-Martin Junction and install
Automatic Train Control Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver do ...
(ATC) between Parc station and the end of the line in Saint-Jérôme. Various upgrading at different stations is ongoing and will be complete by November 2013. The $50-million project allowed for the addition of six weekday departures on August 5, 2013.


RTM/Exo service

On June 1, 2017, the AMT was dissolved and replaced by two new governing bodies, the
Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM; ) is a transportation authority that plans, finances and integrates public transport in Greater Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The organization was created by the Government of Quebec on Ju ...
(ARTM) and the
Réseau de transport métropolitain Exo, stylized as exo and officially known as the (, RTM; ), is a public transport, public transport system in Greater Montreal, including the Island of Montreal, Laval, Quebec, Laval (Île Jésus), and communities along both the North Shore (L ...
(RTM). The RTM took over all former AMT services, including this line, and changed its name to Exo in May 2018. Construction on a new station, Mirabel, began in 2019. Initially scheduled for completion in 2020, it was opened on January 4, 2021. This station is located between Blainville and Saint-Jérôme, and was built in order to better serve residents of the area. In 2023, the service was renumbered to from exo2 to line 12 in order to be unique within the Montreal rail network. The line colour was also changed from pastel green to yellow, to avoid confusion with the
Réseau express métropolitain The Réseau express métropolitain (REM; ) is a Medium-capacity rail system, light metro rapid transit system in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As of June 2025, it consists of five stations spanning 16 km, connecting Downtown Montreal with th ...
.


Future projects

The ARTM is currently considering the following future projects:Programme triennal d'immobilisations
(in French only) * The ARTM is planning a station in Outremont at the current site of the Outremont Yards. The
Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...
purchased the land and plans to convert the rail yards into a new campus in Montréal. The project is currently under study by the City of Montréal and the ARTM. No timeline has been given. * The ARTM is studying improving access to its Blainville and Sainte-Thérèse train stations as well as doubling the railway between Sainte-Rose and Sainte-Thérèse, which includes work to double the track over a bridge.


Stations

There are 14 stations on the Saint-Jérôme Line:


Notes

The Saint-Jérôme Line operates over the following
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
subdivisions: * Saint-Luc Jct and Outremont are not passenger stops.
Exo Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...
owns the track from Sainte-Thérèse to
Saint-Jérôme Saint-Jérôme () ( 2021 population 80,213) is a suburban city located about northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord. It is part of the North Shore sector of Greater Montreal. It is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its reso ...
.


References


External links


Line 12 - Exo official websiteOfficial Exo website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Jerome line Exo commuter rail lines Railway lines opened in 1997 Transport in Laval, Quebec Transport in Laurentides Transport in Montreal 1997 establishments in Quebec