A tramway in eastern Montreal, in addition to being much less expensive than an automatic light metro, would be advantageous for users in terms of travel time. This is the conclusion reached by researchers who measured “door-to-door” travel times for eastern residents boarding a streetcar or light rail. The duty has read this analysis.
With a team of collaborators, including sustainable mobility expert Luc Gagnon, researcher Jean-François Lefebvre, lecturer at the UQAM School of Management Sciences, focused his work on the two scenarios studied by the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM), that of a tramway and that of a light train.
Why focus on the comparison between these two modes, when the ARTM now favors a tram type project rather than a light train? Jean-François Lefebvre maintains that mistrust remains stubborn with regard to the tramway and that opinions are divided on this subject. The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Montreal did not want to comment on the ARTM proposal for a tramway. On Friday, she clarified that she would wait until the government had made its choice before commenting.
Simulations
To better reflect reality, the researchers did not want to simply take into account the speed of each mode of transport, up to 47 km/h for a light train compared to 36 km/h for a tram which would have more stations. Instead, they evaluated travel times by taking into account the user’s journey between their home and a station.
Over the course of the 260 simulations carried out, the researchers concluded that the tram would be faster than the light rail in 69% of trips if the notion of door-to-door travel was taken into account. This rate rises to 83% if the use of an elevator is required to get off in the metro station.
And if an “express tram” option were considered – a tram that skips several stations – it would be faster than the light rail in 77% of trips. This rate reaches 96% if an elevator is required.
Jean-François Lefebvre also criticizes CDPQ Infra for having sold its initial Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project to the government by increasing travel times between stations only. “It’s not completely bad, but it’s an interesting element when you have other indicators,” he says.
The analysis also reports on passenger comfort. For example, it is reported that at full capacity, 15% of users in a light rail system will have seats, whereas in a tramway, this rate is 45%.
For Daniel Chartier, vice-president of the Mercier-Est environmental collective, door-to-door travel time and comfort are crucial issues for residents of the neighborhoods served. Having to take an elevator or escalators to go down to an underground train station with a stroller or grocery cart is much more complicated than accessing a tram station, he points out.
He also says that a tram makes it easier to develop a network in phases. “There, we wait, and after 20 years, we try to do a monster project that screws up,” he says. With a tram, you start and then it is possible to extend it throughout the city. Whereas a REM, we cannot make one in Rosemont or Ahuntsic. It would never happen. »
In this regard, he welcomes the map of the mobility network developed by the City of Montreal as part of the project to revise the Metropolitan Land Use and Development Plan, which shows metro extensions, but also tram sections in several sectors of the metropolis. He hopes that the results of the researchers’ analysis will convince elected officials and citizens of the advantages of the tramway compared to a light train.
In their study, the researchers took the opportunity to suggest other tram sections beyond the initial circuit. They thus mention “half a dozen options” to connect the tram from the East to the Great South-West, which would allow a link with the city center. They also suggest a short section of the tramway towards Laval which could connect to a future commuter train in Laval-Est. Likewise, they mention the extension of the Eastern train towards Epiphany.
The ARTM, which presented its proposal for a tramway in the east last month, has still not sent its final report to the Quebec government, it was indicated on Friday.