The Province of Quebec confirms the Eastern Extension of the Blue Metro Line

[gweed123]

I do not know Montreal that well. I see the logic in continuing the Blue line along Rue Jean Talon, instead of finding a way to switch to a different alignment.

Perhaps Montreal needs a Downtown Relief Line (LDCV) (Ligne de Décharge du Centre-Ville) that goes down Papineau Ave and across on Rue Sherbrooke.

If I'm not mistaken, right now the biggest project downtown Montreal would be an extension of the Yellow Line to McGill Station to relieve Berri-UQAM (the main transfer point). Especially if the South Shore extension happens, dumping more passengers off almost, but not quite in downtown is going to create an even bigger problem than currently exists there.

It would be a big project, but nowhere near the scale of the DRL. Remember, Montreal already has 3 independent lines feeding into the downtown area (well, 2.5, because the Yellow line comes close but not quite). Toronto has 1.

 

[doady]

I do not know Montreal that well. I see the logic in continuing the Blue line along Rue Jean Talon, instead of finding a way to switch to a different alignment.

Perhaps Montreal needs a Downtown Relief Line (LDCV) (Ligne de Décharge du Centre-Ville) that goes down Papineau Ave and across on Rue Sherbrooke.

Yeah, I guess Jean-Talon is a fitting corridor for Metro, better than either Pie-IX or Lacordaire or whatever.

I think Montreal will need another north-south line to provide relief to the metro along St-Denis from the east, exactly the same as Toronto needs for Yonge. This Blue extension will probably just overload Orange Line even more. That extension to Laval was already bad enough.

 

[ShonTron]

STUM can run their metro at grade if they wished. The guideway can be protected from the snow with a shelter over the tracks. Sapporo Metro use a shelter.
May not sit well with the locals, however.

Would be a lot cheaper than covnerting the line to steel wheel, and having two set of trains to maintain.

I wonder if heating the tracks in icy/snowy conditions would would as well or better than building shelters. Morgantown WV heats the tracks of its PRT system, which is also rubber tired. (And being in the Applachian Mountains, only an hour from Pittsburgh, it gets quite a bit of snow, despite it being further south.)

If I'm not mistaken, right now the biggest project downtown Montreal would be an extension of the Yellow Line to McGill Station to relieve Berri-UQAM (the main transfer point). Especially if the South Shore extension happens, dumping more passengers off almost, but not quite in downtown is going to create an even bigger problem than currently exists there.

It would be a big project, but nowhere near the scale of the DRL. Remember, Montreal already has 3 independent lines feeding into the downtown area (well, 2.5, because the Yellow line comes close but not quite). Toronto has 1.

The Yellow Line extension westwards to McGill would be really useful. I wonder too if a station can be built near Bonsecours Market without too much disruption.

 

[gweed123]

The Yellow Line extension westwards to McGill would be really useful. I wonder too if a station can be built near Bonsecours Market without too much disruption.

Maybe even go 1 stop further and build a terminus right inside McGill. And yes, a station at Bonsecours would be nice, but I think it would be pretty difficult. From what I remember the Yellow Line interchange at Berri-UQAM was veeeery deep, so I would imagine a station in the Bonsecours area would be very deep as well. Also, given the historical value of Old Montreal, building a station there may encounter a whole host of historically and architecturally significant structures and remains of structures.

 

[junctionist]

The good thing about the rubber-tired Metro is that it can climb grades of 6 percent--more than steel-wheel subways--so you can have a deep tunnel cut through rock with shallower stations to save money. It's also cheaper to build Metro tunnels since the narrow trains only require one tunnel to be bored for two tracks. The Metro could be built in a sheltered right of way on the surface as well. Eventually, this option may be pursued, though I don't know what the contemporary planning logic is in Montreal.