MÉTRO

[kellergraham]

The STM has a press conference tomorrow at Berri for the unveiling of a new metro map written in braille.

SOCIETE DE TRANSPORT DE MONTREAL

Transmis par le Groupe CNW le : 1 Septembre 2009 10:00

Invitation aux médias - L'INLB et la STM innovent - Première mondiale en matière d'accessibilité pour les personnes non-voyantes!

MONTREAL, le 1er sept. /CNW Telbec/ - L'Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille (INLB) et la Société de transport de Montréal (STM) invitent les représentants des médias à la présentation officielle des plans tactiles des stations de métro de Montréal destinés à la clientèle non-voyante.

Cette initiative unique au monde vise à faciliter l'orientation des personnes ayant une déficience visuelle dans le métro. Les deux organisations ont donc travaillé de concert pendant trois ans pour recréer les 68 stations de métro du réseau de Montréal sous forme de cartes tactiles qui sont utilisées lors d'interventions ciblées auprès des utilisateurs.

Quoi : Dévoilement des plans tactiles des 68 stations de métro de Montréal

Où : Station de métro Berri-UQAM

Dans le corridor St-Denis (adjacent au centre de surveillance de la STM - niveau mezzanine)

Quand : Le mercredi 2 septembre 2009, 10 h 30

Qui : - Monsieur Jean Bouchard, président du conseil d'administration de l'INLB

- Monsieur Michel Labrecque, président du conseil d'administration de la STM

- Monsieur Jacques Caron, usager non-voyant

(xxx) Des intervenants et des usagers seront présents (xxx) et disponibles pour des entrevues

Alex

[David D.]

The STM has a press conference tomorrow at Berri for the unveiling of a new metro map written in braille.

Alex

This is actually a great idea! They're saying they will be the first in the world to do this? Nobody had thought of this before?

[JeremyA]

So will they have them in the changeur booths with the regular maps? Do you think they'd give me one if I told them I needed it for my poor blind grandmother?

[SMS]

These must be expensive to produce so maybe they don't have them at the loges. Maybe you need to order it through CNIB or the Mtl Institute for the Blind or something... I'm sure it will be described in the press release.

[OC8792]

Sorry if im bringing you off topic but is it normal for a STM metro operator to make the first cars front two door's go into the tunnel almost everytime?( station)

[andreas_kon]

I don't know if this has been mentioned but Metrovision screens are at Montmorency.

They were put up a few months ago.

[kellergraham]

Not normal at all. When/where did you see this? More than one occasion?

[OC8792]

Not normal at all. When/where did you see this? More than one occasion?

at cote-vertu snowdon,Lionel-Groulx, geoges-vanier and beri-uqam and i was in the first car of the metro with my dad on monday

( forgive me for spelling error's) he was in manual

[Mystic]

at cote-vertu snowdon,Lionel-Groulx, geoges-vanier and beri-uqam and i was in the first car of the metro with my dad on monday

( forgive me for spelling error's) he was in manual

Hmmm. Something doesn't sound too right about that. I've seen it happen before, but it's extremely rare, because the brakes are so powerful that if the driver is in manual mode that he/she can slam on the brakes and stop in time or just slightly over or under. And in order for the operator to open the doors, he/she now has to contact the control centre every single time this happens and request that they override the door opening functions, and allow him to open the doors even if one or two doors are open inside the tunnel.

It must have been a driver in training. Were there two people in the front motor car, or just one? If there was just the one, they probably would have had a CO out there waiting at the next station relieving him of duty.

Cote-Vertu is understandable, they built the station that way with a temporary control room, so the first two doors pass the loading platform. But funny you should mention Snowdon, Lionel-Groulx and Berri-UQAM. They're all stations with one platform. Perhaps it was a driver in training and wasn't used to the single width platforms.

In any event, how was the driver driving in general, this could have infact all been a mechanical failure in the train, and therefore caused problems with the brakes, though normally they would have immediately pulled the train out of service in an event such as that.

[OC8792]

Hmmm. Something doesn't sound too right about that. I've seen it happen before, but it's extremely rare, because the brakes are so powerful that if the driver is in manual mode that he/she can slam on the brakes and stop in time or just slightly over or under. And in order for the operator to open the doors, he/she now has to contact the control centre every single time this happens and request that they override the door opening functions, and allow him to open the doors even if one or two doors are open inside the tunnel.

It must have been a driver in training. Were there two people in the front motor car, or just one? If there was just the one, they probably would have had a CO out there waiting at the next station relieving him of duty.

Cote-Vertu is understandable, they built the station that way with a temporary control room, so the first two doors pass the loading platform. But funny you should mention Snowdon, Lionel-Groulx and Berri-UQAM. They're all stations with one platform. Perhaps it was a driver in training and wasn't used to the single width platforms.

In any event, how was the driver driving in general, this could have infact all been a mechanical failure in the train, and therefore caused problems with the brakes, though normally they would have immediately pulled the train out of service in an event such as that.

thank you for the information the driver looked like he was in his late 40's he did go out of the car at Cote-vertu to talk to someone in that room he was the only one in the cab. the stop time was normal 45 Seconds ( wasnt busy) the ride for the first few stops ( cote-verty to Snowdon) was very jerky i found when taking off it was a MR 73 but im not sure but IMO it seemed like he was intentionally puting it past the no pass zone for some reason because he gentally glidded to the pass zone and smoothly stoped. Either way he did cause some minor invonvieniece for passengers but not much

Edit: at Georges-Vanier he did talk to another operator but it was a friend convrosation not buisness/work related

also is it common for their to be a operator at the opposite end i thought it was just one driver now?

This was edited by OC8792 at 9:50pm

[Mystic]

thank you for the information the driver looked like he was in his late 40's he did go out of the car at Cote-vertu to talk to someone in that room he was the only one in the cab. the stop time was normal 45 Seconds ( wasnt busy) the ride for the first few stops ( cote-verty to Snowdon) was very jerky i found when taking off it was a MR 73 but im not sure but IMO it seemed like he was intentionally puting it past the no pass zone for some reason because he gentally glidded to the pass zone and smoothly stoped. Either way he did cause some minor invonvieniece for passengers but not much

Edit: at Georges-Vanier he did talk to another operator but it was a friend convrosation not buisness/work related

also is it common for their to be a operator at the opposite end i thought it was just one driver now?

This was edited by OC8792 at 9:50pm

No, I meant as a driver training, sometimes the trainer is in with them. But you said he just glided passed and stopped, that was the weird part. There definitely was something wrong with the train, or the signalling, because as soon as the train passes the platform, the emergency brakes are automatically applied. Very strange indeed this situation.

[kellergraham]

The elevators at Lionel-Groulx and Berri-UQAM will be inaugurated on Monday:

http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/Sept...9/10/c4077.html

Alex

[JeremyA]

How is it that they started working on the LG elevator long before they were working on the Berri, but they've finished both at the same time?

[Chris_the_traveller]

Yesterday afternoon I saw the test train! (the MR-73 with sandbags and some seats pulled up). It honked its horn as it passed through the station. Spotted on the orange line between Snowdon and Lionel-Groulx stations heading towards Montmorency.

[2044]

Métro network to be extended

Through parts of Montreal, Laval and Longueuil; project estimated at more than $3 billion

By Jason Magder

Photo

MONTREAL – The Quebec government will announce a major extension of the métro network Wednesday through Laval, Longueuil and parts of Montreal.

Transport Minister Julie Boulet has scheduled a press conference for Wednesday afternoon at the Berri-UQÀM métro station, and Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay, Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt and Longueuil Mayor Claude Gladu will also be there.

A media invitation said there will be an important announcement about the métro. While the press attachés for Boulet and the mayors would not say more, a source told The Gazette that Boulet has accepted an agreement by the three mayors to extend the métro by about 20 kilometres.

“The métro will be extended,” said the source, who spoke on condition that no name be used. “I just don’t know the details about what has been accepted and what the time frame is.”

Last winter, Boulet asked the Montreal region’s three principal mayors to identify a common goal to improve transport infrastructure. Several weeks ago, the mayors came to an agreement about how the métro should be extended, and presented it to her.

According to the plan, the Blue Line would be prolonged east by five kilometres with stations in St. Léonard and Anjou. The Orange Line would stretch by six kilometres from Côte Vertu to the BoisFranc area at the north end of the island, and then to Laval, where additional stations would be added before a loop is completed with the Montmorency terminal. The métro’s Yellow Line would extend eight kilometres to five new stations in Longueuil, including the Pierre Boucher Hospital and Cégep Édouard Montpetit.

The agreement calls for the métro extension to be completed over a period of 10 to 15 years.

The provincial government will pay the cost of new tunnels and new métro cars, estimated at more than $3 billion. Municipalities would be on the hook for the transit systems’ operating costs and some of the cost overruns.

On hearing the news about a métro extension, Jean Léveillé, president of the transit advocacy group Transport 2000 Quebec, said he was overjoyed.

“Bravo Madame la ministre,” Leveillé said. “We’re always in favour of extending the métro. It means more service and will result in more users of public transit.”

At Wednesday’s news conference, Boulet is expected to outline a time frame of when the project will be completed.

Construction of the Blue Line extension could begin as early as next spring, however.

André Lavallée, the vice-chairman of Montreal’s executive committee, recently told La Presse that the Quebec government would like to get the extension project under way as quickly as possible.

“This project has already been well researched and it could be launched very quickly,” Lavallée said.

“It’s exactly the kind of project the Quebec government is looking for, because it could help to restart the economy.”

[stm_5307N]

Once again, the WEST gets left out when it come to metro extension plans..

[JeremyA]

Well that's all fine and dandy. The blue line expansion makes some sense, the Laval expansion is just pointless, and the Longueuil expansion is okay, but I think we should be working on completing the on-island network (i.e. the west) before they start building outside STM territory like this.

Also, lest we not forget, once again, the ambitious plans of the 60's, that have yet to be completed: http://emdx.org/rail/metro/futur.php

[SMS]

I tried all three of the new Lionel Groulx elevators today! Very good!

As for the west getting the metro, forget it. It's heavy rail or nothing...

[joseph99929]

I definitely 100% agree with the eastward extension of the blue line into Anjou. It should end at an AMT terminus which would serve RDP, PAT, a few buses from Anjou, eastern Laval and Terrebonne (A-25 bridge), Repentigny, CRT Lanaudiere, etc..., maybe even get an RTL bus in.

We also definitely need a northwestward extension of the orange line to Bois-Franc to allow Deux-Montagnes train people to transfer to the metro and to complete the northern part of the city's bus network by redirecting the buses that go to Cartierville terminus to the Bois-Franc metro station. The 68,69,etc would become a lot more useful. The STM network would change slightly, STL buses would probably end at Bois-Franc. Maybe some 151s at rush hour could continue to Vanier and College Saint-Laurent.

I don't know enough about Longueuil to comment on their extension, but sure go ahead.

I don't think that a looping of the metro through Laval is required, yet. The STL network is adequate for travel through Laval. What is really needed is more service towards metro Cote-Vertu/Bois-Franc to allow seamless travel to both sides of the city. I have been trying to pressure the CIT Laurentides to get a bus going to Cote-Vertu from Sainte-Therese via Montpellier.

[emdx]

The only Métro extensions that can remotely be deemed to seem to appear to make an eventual smidgeon of a whiff of a trace of sense (but only strictly in the current context) would be of line 5, but no more than 2-3 stations towards Montréal-Nord, at roughly Pie-IX / Boulevard Industriel (Anjou is already well-served by line 1), and line 2 towards the Bois-Franc station, mostly to give a better irradiation to the Deux-Montagnes commuter train line.

Line 5 makes sense only to serve Montréal-Nord, and line 2 to connect to the Deux-Montagnes line.

Anything else is a total waste of taxpayer's money, just as the extension to Laval is. For the same amount of money, a much larger area and greater number of people would be much better served by "light rails" (euphemism for "streetcars").

As urban density goes, only the downtown core (Atwater/St-Laurent — Sherbrooke/René-Lévesque & Notre-Dame, east of Peel) has sufficient density to justify a subway. Everywhere else, streetcars would have done the job much better for much less money.

As it happens, building the Métro itself could have been avoided by proper upgrading the streetcar network, and by running underground in the downtown core:

(Please note that I have been banned many years ago from the "Métro De Montréal.com" forum for posting this heretic idea).

[smallspy]

As it happens, building the Métro itself could have been avoided by proper upgrading the streetcar network, and by running underground in the downtown core:

You really think that subways underground could handle the same loads as the métro now takes? Good luck with that.

Dan

[emdx]

Sure! The streetcar system used to move a million people every day, back in it’s heyday, without any downtown tunnels; and workers were much more concentrated downtown back then. Which happens to be the same number of people the Métro system is moving nowadays.

Don’t forget that those people are concentrated on 4 Métro lines, whereas the streetcars were spread all over the place.

Look carefully; going north east of the Mountain, you have 4 streetcar lines (Park, St-Laurent, St-Denis & Papineau) doing the work of 1 Métro line. Over time, streetcars could have been lengthened; you can put a lot of people in two 3-articulated units streetcars coupled together! And those empty very quickly in the street instead of in subway station corridors, and they stop much more often, so less people get on/off at each stop.

[joseph99929]

I agree with you Marc, they should not have removed the tramway on all streets. They should have kept tracks on the major axes. However, the past is past, and Light Rail is not an adequate replacement for a metro extension. Tramways are hardly any better than a bus in terms of travel time and an additional transfer from local bus to light rail and then onto the metro will lengthen trip times. That is why Laval's trolleybus would never work. However, we definitely do not need massive metro extensions into suburban areas when improving bus service will do.

[emdx]

Au contraire, streetcars are perfectly adequate. When they operate on dedicaced right of way, they achieve significantly higher speeds than buses. And then operated in multiple units, they can carry half as much people as a subway train; when spread on 3-4 different lines, that’s actually more people than a subway line.

For the price paid for the Laval extensions, there could have been at least three streetcar lines built, serving far more people directly than the three measly stations built.

And lastly, it does not make sense to have a subway line that’s more than 20 km long; that’s a distance more fit for a commuter train.

[andreas_kon]

Here's what I think about the proposed extensions:

• Blue Line: This one is a must.
  
• Yellow Line: I read in the papers about an option to extend the line further to St-Hubert airport. I don't think this is necessary. Just stop it at Roland-Therrien. Shuttle buses could complete the link to the airport.
  
• Orange Line: As for the Laval portion of the extension, I have to say that I am skeptical about this loop idea because of potential negative effects on STL ridership. I would prefer just one station in Laval (none would also be okay with me), and if Vaillancourt wants a loop, just connect the two terminals with a bus line. Going to Bois-Franc is a must, so the line should at least go up to here.
  

We also definitely need a northwestward extension of the orange line to Bois-Franc to allow Deux-Montagnes train people to transfer to the metro and to complete the northern part of the city's bus network by redirecting the buses that go to Cartierville terminus to the Bois-Franc metro station. The 68,69,etc would become a lot more useful. The STM network would change slightly, STL buses would probably end at Bois-Franc. Maybe some 151s at rush hour could continue to Vanier and College Saint-Laurent.

I would strongly believe that ALL 144s, 151s, and 902s would still end at Cote-Vertu. Why force the students to pay for a TRAM pass? They're fine getting off at Cote-Vertu and walking to the CEGEPs. Let's not impose any extra unnecessary costs on them.