The population of the greater Montreal region continues to grow. Transportation needs continue to grow. Reducing CO emissions2 transportation is a huge challenge in Quebec, and so is urban sprawl. However, despite all these elements, the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) is considering closing three commuter train lines to save around $21 million per year.
The train is a heritage already in place from which we should rather know how to benefit collectively. We too often forget that railway lines, even today, connect hundreds of cities and villages in Quebec. The train has considerable and necessary advantages to address the societal challenges we face. Advantages that buses do not have.
The train is never stuck in traffic. The train also has the advantage of serving populations in the centers of cities, thus promoting densification and development of central neighborhoods instead of peripheral urban sprawl which encroaches on fields and natural environments. The train is comfortable and regular, which allows users to work on it. Part of the rail network is already electrified.
Reversing the trend
The current context simply cannot justify a reduction in rail service. On the contrary, the ARTM should consider improving and expanding its offering in this area. Rail operators must invest and develop their offer, because this is the only way to keep rail passenger transport attractive and competitive. The vast majority of metropolises in the world are developing their railway infrastructure, why should Montreal be an exception?
There is no shortage of options for expansion: the train line which ends at Mont-Saint-Hilaire could easily serve Saint-Hyacinthe (59,000 inhabitants), or even Drummondville (83,000 inhabitants); the train to Candiac could serve Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (100,000 inhabitants). The infrastructure is already in place. This would make it possible to increase the population served by this service, at low cost.
Deficient accounting logic
The Mascouche line is one of those that is being considered for closure, despite the fact that it is just celebrating ten years of operation. It alone cost nearly $700 million. An investment that it would be wise to make profitable instead of throwing it in the trash to make small savings. With the planned cuts, it would take thirty years before the savings exceed the investments made for this line alone.
The greater Montreal region cannot afford to see its carbon-free public transport offering reduced, while needs continue to increase. We spend billions on our roads every year and yet we hear no one from the political class say that it is too expensive and not profitable. Why then impose this logic on public transport?
At the mercy of politics
One thing is certain: to maintain and improve the offer of public rail transport in Quebec, the political will must be there in the National Assembly of Quebec. Funding for public transportation must be stable and predictable. Let’s hope that the next by-elections in Terrebonne will be an opportunity for the parties to renew their support for the commuter train.
The country’s major railway companies also have their role to play and must work together with the government to achieve our collective targets for reducing carbon emissions. With the current disastrous record in terms of CO emissions2 in transportation, the loss of three commuter train lines in Montreal would constitute a setback that Quebec cannot afford.