Candiac (also designated line 14, formerly known as Delson-Candiac) is a commuter railway line in Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by Exo, the organization that operates public transport services across this region.

Candiac
A train at Montreal-West station
Overview
OwnerExo
Line number14
LocaleGreater Montreal
Termini
Stations9
WebsiteCandiac line (RTM)
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemExo
Operator(s)Bombardier
Daily ridership4,875 (2018) [1]
Ridership1,267,500 (2018)
History
Opened1887
Technical
Line length25.6 km (15.9 mi)[2]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationNo
Operating speed60 mph (97 km/h)
Route map
Candiac line
Windsor Station
Lucien-L'Allier
Westmount
Vendôme
Montréal-Ouest
originally Montreal Junction
Du Canal
LaSalle
Zone A
Zone C
Saint-Laurent Bridge over
Saint Lawrence River
Sainte-Catherine
Saint-Constant
Delson
Candiac
layover facility

The Candiac line was originally operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) as part of its South-Eastern railway line between Windsor Station and Farnham from 1887 until 1980. The former AMT resumed passenger service on this line in 2001, while Exo assumed current service on June 1, 2017.

There are nine inbound and nine outbound trains each weekday.[3]

Overview edit

This line links the Lucien-L'Allier station in downtown Montreal with Candiac, on Montreal's South Shore.

The line offers nine departures every weekday towards Montreal and nine return trips to Candiac every weekday. Most departures are during rush hour, but three are offered during off-peak hours in each direction.[3]

History edit

AMT service edit

The former Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT) started service on this line on September 4, 2001 with two round trips every day. One trainset was used for both departures. In September 2003, service was increased to four round trips per day and a second trainset was used. Service was extended to Candiac in 2005, at which point the line was renamed as the Delson-Candiac line. In 2009, two additional departures were added in each direction with leased trainsets being used until new locomotives and rolling stock is received.

Service on the line was suspended from February 17, 2006 to March 9, 2006 after the derailment of six Canadian Pacific freight cars on February 17. The freight cars derailed on the Saint-Laurent Railway Bridge used by the train service. This was one of the longest disruptions in train service for the AMT. High winds were a factor in that derailment. In September 2013 CP banned AMT's multilevel coaches from the bridge during high wind conditions (85 km/h or more), deeming them potentially unstable in such conditions. After that AMT has used only its single-level 700 series coaches on this line, but has now returned to the Multileve 3000 series after the 700 series was retired.

The line was renamed on July 1, 2010 from "Delson-Candiac" to simply "Candiac" to standardize formatting across the network.[4]

On January 16, 2017, a new station named Du Canal was opened on Saint-Joseph Boulevard in Lachine. This project was part of the MTQ's mitigation measures for the reconstruction of the Turcot interchange.

RTM/Exo service edit

On June 1, 2017, the AMT was dissolved and replaced by two new governing bodies, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) and the Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM). The RTM took over all former AMT services, including this line.

In May 2018, the RTM rebranded itself as Exo, and in that process updated all line names with a number each and updated their line colours. The Candiac line became Exo 4, and its line colour was updated to a lighter pastel shade of blue. In 2023, the service was renumbered to line 14 in order to be unique within the Montreal rail network, and its line colour was changed to a pastel shade of turquoise.[5]

Future projects edit

To improve service and attract new users on the Candiac line, the ARTM will carry out two major projects:[6]

  • Improve railway infrastructure on the Adirondack/Lacolle subdivision. The $20-million project includes improving signaling, adding a siding for freight trains, refurbishing switches and improving pedestrian crossings. Work was scheduled to be completed by 2014.
  • Build a new layover facility (overnight service and storage yard) at the end of the line. Construction is linked to the railway improvement project above.

The possibility of extending the Candiac Line another 20 kilometres beyond the new layover facility to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Saint-Philippe was also examined by the Quebec Government in 2014. In 2016, the study's final report rejected that option, citing longer travel times by train for people in the area.

List of stations edit

These stations are on the Candiac line:

Station Location Connections Zones
Lucien-L'Allier Ville-Marie, Montreal     Lucien-L'Allier Metro station
  Downtown Terminus
  STM: 36, 107 ,150, 168, 350, 355, 358, 364, 410, 420, 427, 430, 465, 480, 715, 747 (on René Lévesque Boulevard)
1
Vendôme Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal     Vendôme Metro station
  STM: 17 (north bound at the corner of Decarie Boulevard and De Maisonneuve Boulevard, south bound at the corner of rue Girouard and Upper Lachine Road), 37, 90, 102, 104, 105, 124, 371, 420 (same corners as 17) west[7][8])
Montréal-Ouest Montreal West   STM: 51, 105, 123, 162, 356
Du Canal Lachine, Montreal   STM: 90, 191,195, 356, 491
LaSalle LaSalle, Montreal   STM: 110, 495.
Sainte-Catherine Sainte-Catherine   Exo: 33, 38, T30 5
Saint-Constant Saint-Constant   Exo: 30, 34, 35, 40
Delson Delson   Exo: T36
Candiac Candiac   Exo: T36

The commuter line operates over these Canadian Pacific Railway lines:

Subdivision Start End
Westmount Subdivision Lucien L'Allier 00.1 Montreal West 04.6
South Junction Lead Montreal West 00.0 South Junction* 00.7
Adirondack Subdivision South Junction* 43.9 Candiac 33.2

Note: South Junction is not a passenger stop.

References edit

  1. ^ https://exo.quebec/Media/Default/pdf/section8/publications/RA_2018_exo.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ "Rapport d'activités 2010" (PDF) (in French). Agence métropolitaine de transport. 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b "Ligne Candiac" (PDF). AMT. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-19. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  4. ^ Leduc, Robert (2010-07-01). "Nouveaux noms des lignes de trains de banlieue (New names for commuter train lines)" (in French). Montreal Express. Archived from the original on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  5. ^ "Your train lines are getting new numbers". exo.quebec. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  6. ^ AMT PTI 2012-1013-2014 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2012-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Plan du Reseau STM 2007" (PDF). STM. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  8. ^ "Plan du Reseau de Nuit STM 2006" (PDF). STM. 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-26.

External links edit