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I noticed today on Alstom Télécité, during the Bonaventure station announcement, only the Deux-Montagnes and Mont-Saint-Hilaire train lines were advertised rather than all 5 lines, as previously was done.

I've seen that on a few cars too.

Also it says something like "Gare Centrale Vers Deux-Montagnes" or something like that.

They finally realized that the CP lines aren't conveniently accessible by Bonaventure.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yesterday I strolled into Namur Metro at 6 am (I wanted to be at work at 6 30 am) and I saw the first metro to Cote-Vertu at 6 04 am... it was SRO to the max! The STM should really run an express on every first departure on every line before running local services all day. Here's what I thought of:

LINE 1 DIRECTION ANGRIGNON

Honoré-Beaugrand (terminus)

Radisson (for park and ride)

>> express until

Pie-IX (for route 139)

Joliette (for route 67)

>> express until

Berri-UQAM (transfer station)

>> local until

Angrignon (terminus)

LINE 1 DIRECTION HONORÉ-BEAUGRAND

Angrignon (terminus)

>> express until

Jolicoeur

>> express until

Lionel-Groulx (transfer station)

>> local until

Honoré-Beaugrand (terminus)

LINE 2 DIRECTION COTE-VERTU

Montmorency (terminus)

>> express until

Cartier (for park and ride)

Henri-Bourassa (major bus terminal)

>> express until

Jean-Talon (transfer station)

>> express until

Berri-UQAM (transfer station

>> local until

Côte-Vertu (terminus)

LINE 2 DIRECTION MONTMORENCY

Côte-Vertu (terminus)

>> express until

Namur (for park and ride)

>> express until

Snowdon (transfer station)

>> express until

Lionel-Groulx (transfer station)

>> local until

Montmorency (terminus)

LINE 4 - Expresses just skip Jean-Drapeau simply

LINE 5 DIRECTION SNOWDON

Saint-Michel (terminus)

>> express until

Jean-Talon (transfer station)

>> express until

Parc (major bus terminal)

>> express until

Édouard-Montpetit (beginning of U de M campus)

>> local until

Snowdon (terminus)

LINE 5 DIRECTION SAINT-MICHEL

Snowdon (terminus)

>> local until

Édouard-Montpetit (end of U de M campus)

>> express until

Parc (major bus terminal)

>> express until

Jean-Talon (transfer station)

>> express until

Saint-Michel (terminus)

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I like your thinking, Mario. There should definitely be some rush-hour trains that are express, like you outlined, in order to get people downtown faster in the morning, or vice versa in the evening.

I know they do this in New York City; where certain trains are express. I don't think they do it in Toronto, but I can't be certain. They would have to announce as the train was pulling in that it was an express run, and indicate this as well on the display screens. Woudln't want someone to accidentally get on an express train, and end up having to backtrack to get to their destination.

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Toronto unfortunately was not built with express tracks and in hindsight it would have been great and practical today but this wasn't the case when they were building the subway in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

This is the best case scenario because the STM does not like to park trains anywhere other than the tail tracks or garages and it helps the earliest commuters go to their destinations. Keep in mind that the local train would depart only one minute after the first and only express of the day.

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Toronto unfortunately was not built with express tracks and in hindsight it would have been great and practical today but this wasn't the case when they were building the subway in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

This is the best case scenario because the STM does not like to park trains anywhere other than the tail tracks or garages and it helps the earliest commuters go to their destinations. Keep in mind that the local train would depart only one minute after the first and only express of the day.

In most cases the train operators push the trains to the limits for the first departure in manual mode, and this is where you see 3 second station stops when the train stops the doors open and close right away and when they drive at the speed limit or just above and full speed into the stations. My favourite departure in the morning, I sort of consider it an express train, even though it stops at every station, it'll get you from Angrignon to Lionel-Groulx in 8 minutes flat. (normally 12), and downtown in 15 minutes (normally 20).

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That's not good enough for me, now that we have a taste of station flybys (Frontenac, Papineau, Georges-Vanier, most recently Charlevoix), it is entirely feasible to run a morning express for those early commuters that can stand to benefit from improved travel times.

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That's not good enough for me, now that we have a taste of station flybys (Frontenac, Papineau, Georges-Vanier, most recently Charlevoix), it is entirely feasible to run a morning express for those early commuters that can stand to benefit from improved travel times.

Honestly though what would be great is if they could provide a service like this overnight. Possibly 20 minute intervals and make limited stops: Angrignon/Lionel-Groulx/McGill/Berri/Pie-IX/Honore-Beaugrand and then have a bus service that branches off from there. Much like you suggested in your original suggestion, but expanded upon to cover the night-owls. And also those that are at Angrignon and live in PAT and have to take 4+ hours to get home after the last metro has passed.

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Two interesting things happened on the Metro today.

First of all, while riding 79-713 on the Orange Line, the automated announcements for the stations were coming out all garbled. I could have sworn that instead of saying "Station Place d'Armes", Madame Metro (the name my brother and I came up with for the female voice who announces the stops, service disruptions, etc.) said "Quarante-six" (46), which was very bizarre :P. She spat out something just as unintelligible when we arrived at Berri a few minutes later.

Second, while riding the Yellow Line to Terminus Longueuil shortly afterwards, a young couple got on with their young daughter. The mother spoke to the Metro driver (head car was 81-693; run number 41) before we left. While in the tunnel, the driver, who was a very nice man, opened the door behind him leading into the train so that the little girl could see out the windshield. I moved up to the front so I could see what going on. I had always wanted to get a driver's eye view of a Metro ride, and I finally got my wish today. When we arrived at Longueuil, the parents thanked the driver, and I did as well. That was definitely an awesome experience :P.

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My friends were downtown and apparently had trouble accessing the metro at around midnight because "all the entrances were closed". I guess at this time most of the malls in the Underground City would be closed. If so, how would you access the metro? Does every downtown station have an all-day access (first train till last train)? If so, where? I would assume that the actual Red SORTIE signs in the metro would lead to the all-day exit, but how could you find it from the street?

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My friends were downtown and apparently had trouble accessing the metro at around midnight because "all the entrances were closed". I guess at this time most of the malls in the Underground City would be closed. If so, how would you access the metro? Does every downtown station have an all-day access (first train till last train)? If so, where? I would assume that the actual Red SORTIE signs in the metro would lead to the all-day exit, but how could you find it from the street?

Certain Metro entrances that connect directly into malls, the underground city, or other buildings, are closed during certain hours. Usually such entrances are identified by a sign saying at what times they're closed. All metro stations are, however, accessible for the entire time that there is metro service. You'll have to walk around a bit, circling the metro, until you find an entrance that's open. You could try looking at a map too, as sometimes they show where the entrances are.

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Certain Metro entrances that connect directly into malls, the underground city, or other buildings, are closed during certain hours. Usually such entrances are identified by a sign saying at what times they're closed. All metro stations are, however, accessible for the entire time that there is metro service. You'll have to walk around a bit, circling the metro, until you find an entrance that's open. You could try looking at a map too, as sometimes they show where the entrances are.

A lot of the downtown station entrances were covered by skyscrapers and that's why you might have a hard time finding an entrance. I've noticed lately though that they keep the Cathedrale mall open for pedestrians now to go from McGill metro to Ste-Catherine street afterhours. They used to lock it up, now they have the area roped off so you can walk from the entrance to the metro, there is a guard there now. And Peel has several entrances that stay open until the metro closes, since the theatre is open as well. But don't quote me on that, they might have changed things, since I remember one time being blocked off at the industrial alliance mall after midnight and had to go up Peel street to De Maisoneuve to find the real metro station entrance.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't know if anyone's posted this yet...

I was visiting Montreal yesterday and noticed that the STM are running MR-63 cars on the Yellow Line. It must have been some time since those trains ran to Longueuil because the headsign read "Berri-de Montigny", a name which hasn't been used in more than 20 years! :P

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I don't know if anyone's posted this yet...

I was visiting Montreal yesterday and noticed that the STM are running MR-63 cars on the Yellow Line. It must have been some time since those trains ran to Longueuil because the headsign read "Berri-de Montigny", a name which hasn't been used in more than 20 years! :P

Yep, this is commonplace now. They've been running MR-63s on the Yellow Line for a while now, and since no modern placards were ever made for that line, they use the original roll signs instead. I think that's pretty cool, actually. It's historic as well - those roll signs are more than 20 years old, as you said. I believe the Berri-de-Montigny destination dates back to when the Yellow Line originally opened in 1966 or 1967.

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Yep, this is commonplace now. They've been running MR-63s on the Yellow Line for a while now, and since no modern placards were ever made for that line, they use the original roll signs instead. I think that's pretty cool, actually. It's historic as well - those roll signs are more than 20 years old, as you said. I believe the Berri-de-Montigny destination dates back to when the Yellow Line originally opened in 1966 or 1967.

The name Berri-de-Montigny was used since the opening of the metro up until 1988. Since then, it has been called Berri-Uqam. Those signs should be originals from 1966 and they haven't been used for 21 years.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The concrete canopy above Guy Metro's Guy st. exit is gone. Well almost all gone, half still remains to be demolished. For the time being the Guy st. exit is closed, only way to get out is by Concordia building.

Here is an article from 2008 about the area and the future plans.

http://spacingmontreal.ca/2008/02/19/city-...bethune-square/

http://buildings.concordia.ca/images/sgw/guy/gallery/2.jpg

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The concrete canopy above Guy Metro's Guy st. exit is gone. Well almost all gone, half still remains to be demolished. For the time being the Guy st. exit is closed, only way to get out is by Concordia building.

This is rich, now people will have to wait in the weather. From what I gather from the renderings, there is no shelter for bus passengers.

Typical of Montréal, f bus users. What a bunch of morons.

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And was the lighting on the MR-63s changed the past few years?

The interior lights seemed a lot bluer than how I remmebered them

And why is it that every car seems to have ONE of the old lights left? It doesn't make sense to redo all the lights, only to leave one yellow and old.

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You mean the MR73's? They tend to have a problem where the doors open around 1-4 km/h.

Yes, haven't seen that kind of thing for years!

Obviously it is automatic then, I can't imagine that if the train was in manual that the would do this every time.

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Yes, haven't seen that kind of thing for years!

Obviously it is automatic then, I can't imagine that if the train was in manual that the would do this every time.

The lights are only replaced when the white ones burn out, and I'm pretty disappointed though with the blue lights. They are find in small numbers, but when a car has all but one blue, it makes everything darker. Probably not the intention. And yeah, I noticed that there is always atleast one white light left. Perhaps that's the backup battery light and they need to keep it bright?

As for opening the doors when in motion, it happens in manual mode as well, if the driver pulls up too slow to the end of the platform, the doors will automatically open when it reaches the exact spot, even if the train isn't completely stopped yet. Some are worse than others, I've been on a train that was still gliding in about 10 feet from stopping and the doors began to open, but that was a few years ago. And I have also been on an MR-73 where it was able to start up with the doors still open, now believe me or not, it happened on the yellow line before the MR-63's took over, and the train was packing it in, and the train was trying to close the doors and leave, but people were still holding open the doors, and the train started leaving the station with a few doors still being held open!

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