Deal might include Doney Spur. Move would improve shoddy service now being offered

Amidst all the sour news recently for West Islanders about commuter trains breaking down and being overcrowded, there is a prospect of relief down the tracks that could really improve service a year from now if there is the political will.

A letter obtained by The Gazette from a high-ranking official with the Agence métropolitaine de transport indicates the regional transit agency is at a critical stage in its talks with Canadian National Railway to buy the Deux Montagnes train line, and that the Doney Spur, a 9.7-kilometre freight rail line that is linked to it, may be part of the deal.

If the AMT wants the Doney Spur, it must have real plans for it, says Avrom Shtern, spokesperson on transit issues for the Green Coalition, an environmental advocacy group. The AMT has studied using the Doney Spur as part of a proposed light-rail link from Trudeau airport in Dorval to downtown, a line that could also be extended farther west to Ste. Anne de Bellevue.

"They could use light-rail cars that would cost less to operate," said Shtern, 47, who is also an English teacher. The Doney Spur could compliment the Deux Montagnes line, giving commuters better service, he said.

"If there's the political will, they could repair and extend the Doney Spur and get this done in a year."

AMT spokesperson Marie Gendron would not say whether the Doney Spur will be part of any deal with CN. And CN spokesperson Julie Senécal declined to comment.

A refurbished Doney Spur could eventually link to the métro, Shtern noted. The city of Montreal's long-range transportation plan includes the extension of the orange line 2.2 kilometres north from Côte Vertu station to the Bois Franc neighbourhood at a cost of $340 million. Bois Franc station is at one end of the Doney Spur line.

Late last year, Shtern used the access-to-information law to request details from the AMT regarding its plans for the Doney Spur. In a reply Dec. 11, the AMT refused to give details, citing its ongoing talks to buy the Deux Montagnes line, for which it has offered CN $45 million. The AMT currently rents track time for its trains from CN, and the line is the AMT's most crowded, with an average of 31,000 people using it every weekday.

Michel Fortier, AMT vice-president for corporate and legal affairs, wrote to Shtern that talking about the Doney Spur "might jeopardize talks to conclude a deal since no final agreement has yet been signed on the purchase of the Deux Montagnes line."

Perhaps the pressure applied last week by Quebec Transport Minister Julie Boulet on the AMT to respond to commuters' complaints will change the dynamic of those talks. But Réal Grégoire, a spokesperson for Transport Quebec, said no request from the AMT to fund the purchase of a rail line had been received. The Quebec government has a program that funds 75 per cent of some public transit projects.