Tag Archives: AMT

| Media, Montreal, Public transit

So Metro goes to the STM, 24 Heures goes to the AMT

First edition of La Page AMT, August 26, 2009

First edition of La Page AMT, August 26, 2009

The Agence métropolitaine de transport has announced that, starting Wednesday, it will be communicating with customers via a page in the free daily 24 Heures once a week. The first such page, announcing their new train cars, is available as a PDF. It appears on Page 12 of Wednesday’s edition.

If this idea sounds eerily similar to the Info STM page in Metro, it’s no coincidence. It all goes back to how these two newspapers got started.

A tale of two free commuter dailies

Metro began publication on March 1, 2001, a partnership between Swedish-based Metro and Montreal-based Transcontinental. A key part of the business plan for this newspaper was a deal it struck with the Société de transport de Montréal (then the Société de transport de la communauté urbaine de Montréal or STCUM). In exchange for exclusive distribution inside the metro system, the newspaper would give 2% of its advertising revenues (guaranteed at $900,000 for the first three years) to the transit agency. It would also give a free page in every issue to the STM so it could more easily offer information to metro users.

Before Metro’s first issue went out the door, Quebecor Media launched a campaign against the deal. Cease-and-desist letters went out to both the STM and Metro, followed by a lawsuit. Even a letter from former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, a member of Quebecor’s board of directors. Quebecor’s argument was that a restriction against other newspapers distributing freely in the metro was a violation of its right to free expression.

The lawsuit was rejected in 2003, and in 2005 the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal. (A similar lawsuit happened in Philadelphia against Metro, and it too ended up losing in court.) Quebecor was clearly not going to win this battle in court.

24 Heures from four years ago (Aug. 26, 2005)

24 Heures from four years ago (Aug. 26, 2005)

24 Heures, Quebecor’s answer to Metro, was launched as Montréal Métropolitain less than two weeks after Metro began distribution. Because of the agreement between Metro and the STM, the paper is distributed outside metro stations. And because of Montreal’s ban on newspaper distribution boxes, the company has to hire people to actually hand copies out to commuters. Without a distribution system in the metro, 24 Heures suffered, and constantly lags behind Metro in circulation figures.

At some point since its launch, 24 Heures decided to focus more on places Metro doesn’t distribute (which is basically everywhere outside the metro). One of those places is commuter train stations, where you’ll find yellow 24 Heures boxes but no Metro.

So it makes sense that the AMT and 24 Heures team up with this page.

What’s unclear is whether the AMT is paying 24 Heures for this page, or whether it’s being offered as part of an agreement with the AMT. I’ve asked the AMT about it, and will update this post with what they say.

La Page AMT will be published every Wednesday in 24 Heures starting August 26. 24 Heures is available in virtual format free online.

| Montreal, Public transit

AMT unveils new cars; kids under 12 ride free

Lots of news out of the Agence métropolitaine de transport this week.

Among them:

| Public transit

AMT lets kids under 12 ride free*

The Agence métropolitaine de transport has announced that, effective immediately, children under the age of 12 can ride free on commuter trains if they’re accompanied by a paying adult.

Buried in the release is that this only applies to July and August (though The Gazette reports they might consider making it permanent). Children 6-11 who aren’t accompanied by an adult still have to pay their fare (and have to get an Opus card to take advantage of reduced fare).

Children who already have a pass for July can get a refund.

The move not only encourages family outings on public transit (the STM has a similar program for kids under 12 on weekends and holidays), but means a lot of kids won’t have to worry about getting Opus cards (under the pre-Opus system, only those age 13 and up needed student ID) until they start school in the fall.

The STL in Laval has a similar system in place for the summer.

| Montreal, Public transit, West Island

New summer bus schedules

The STM has released summer schedules for its bus network. Among the notable changes that take effect June 22:

  • 70 Bois-Franc gets a significant boost in service to complete its schedule. Service now extends to midnight, seven days a week (before it ended about 7pm), and intervals during rush hour drop from 30 to 15 minutes in both directions.
  • 119 Rockland adds Sunday service in both directions. Previously it was a Monday-to-Saturday bus.
  • 164 Dudemaine‘s western terminus is extended by two blocks, ending at Steinberg St. instead of Bois-Franc, to serve an area the STM considered to have inadequate service.
  • 174 Côte-Vertu Ouest gets midday service on weekdays at half-hour intervals, as well as four new departures in the evening, extending its service from 6pm to 8pm.
  • 209 Des Sources now stops at the Trudeau Airport via the Dorval train station.
  • 210 John Abbott adds a stop inside the Kirkland shopping centre that includes the Colisée, for all the John Abbott students who want to watch a movie after school (or instead of?). The STM cites safety as a reason for this stop, which replaces one at Jean-Yves and the service road.
  • 219 Chemin Sainte-Marie gets the same modification, but only in the westbound direction.
  • 361 Saint-Denis moves to a summer schedule with more departures, particularly on Sunday nights when intervals drop from 45 minutes to 30.
  • 515 Vieux-Montréal-Vieux-Port takes on a summer schedule, which reduces wait times from 20 minutes, seven days a week to 13 minutes on weekdays and 10 minutes on weekends.

UPDATE: The Gazette has a story on the changes based off the STM press releases. Both misspell “Bois-Franc”.

Meanwhile, the AMT is reducing service on the new schedule for its Nuns’ Island express bus, increasing intervals from 20 minutes to 30. Mitigating this news somewhat is that the STM has just approved a new bus route, probably to take effect in the fall, connecting Nuns’ Island with the LaSalle metro station.

| Public transit, West Island

AMT wants to hear your rants

Does this picture send you into an uncontrollable fit of rage? Tell it to the Man!

Does this picture send you into an uncontrollable fit of rage? Tell it to the Man!

After lots of promises to setup public meetings so it could actually converse with its users, the Agence métropolitaine de transport held its first one on Tuesday night in Baie d’Urfé. There came the mini-announcement that the agence is planning to have text-message alerts of delayed trains and real-time updates on arrival times at train stations.

The AMT meets the public again next Tuesday, this time to hear about the Deux Montagnes train line. The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. in the building across the street from the Sunnybrooke train station.

| Montreal, Public transit

AMT to study full electrification of commuter trains

Not only are the AMT's diesel locomotives old and noisy, but they pollute.

Not only are the AMT's diesel locomotives old and noisy, but they pollute.

The Agence métropolitaine de transport on Tuesday launched a call for tenders on a feasibility study for full electrification of the commuter train network. So far only the Deux-Montagnes line uses electric power (and it uses it exclusively).

CJAD (who I guess read La Presse this morning) quotes the AMT’s Joel Gauthier saying the process would take 15 years to complete. This is a decade faster than he predicted last year in an interview with the Hudson Gazette. The Gazette gets a figure of $300 million from an AMT document submitted in December.

The AMT is acquiring 20 dual-mode (diesel/electric) trains which will serve on its Train de l’Est. That route uses the Mount Royal tunnel, which prohibits diesel locomotion because it is not ventilated and everyone would, you know, die.

Electrifying the other four routes would cut down on pollution, cost and noise, which would no doubt satisfy this family who apparently have just realized that they live next to a century-old railway.

Of course, since AMT doesn’t actually own those tracks (they’re owned by CN and CP), this process certainly still has a way to go before anyone starts putting up wires.

| Public transit

LaSalle’s tiny platform comes back to life

LaSalle train station building

This tiny platform at the LaSalle commuter train station, which has sat unused in favour of its longer twin on the other side, is coming back to life on Monday because of work being done on the track. That means train users will have to figure out which car to be in (much like they have to do on the Saint-Hilaire line because of the length of its platforms).

Toward Montreal, the platform will line up with the tail of the train. Toward Delson/Candiac, it will line up with the head.

| Montreal, Public transit

AMT ends paper tickets on commuter trains

Opus card validator at Central Station

Opus card validator at Central Station

The AMT has issued notices to users of its five commuter train lines that it will be ending the use of paper tickets this month. Saint-Hilaire and Candiac riders get cut off on Friday April 17 and Blainville, Deux-Montagnes and Dorion users get cut off on the 24th.

This move is part of the metropolitan area’s move from paper and magnetic-strip based fare systems to the new Opus smart card, whose long phasing-in process is expected to be complete in June.

As of the dates above:

  • Monthly train-only passes (which are only available for Zones 4-7) will no longer be issued in paper form
  • Ticket machines will no longer issue single-fare paper tickets
  • Six-packs of train tickets in paper format will no longer be sold (even though the vending machines they use to sell them are barely five years old)
  • Paper ticket validation machines will be removed from service

That leaves commuters with three options:

What’s not clear here is what option there is for someone who just wants to take one ride on a train. Unless the Solo card is available in single-use format (which would be a huge waste), tourists who want to explore the city using its public transit system will be forced to purchase an Opus card or get more tickets than they need.

I’m hoping I’m mistaken.

| Public transit

More AMT coupon fun

AMT Deux Montagnes rebate coupon

AMT Deux Montagnes rebate coupon

The AMT announced today that it is adding yet more coupon distribution dates for coupons for partial rebates for its April passes. Originally it was only supposed to be Wednesday (March 18). But March 23 and March 30 have been added to the schedule.

On all three dates, the coupons will be handed out:

  • At all stations on the Deux Montagnes line from 5:45am to 10am
  • At Central Station from 10:45am to 3pm
  • At Central Station again from 7:30pm to 12:30am

As per the AMT’s compensation plan, the idea is to give 25% discounts on April passes only for users of the Deux-Montagnes train line. Another 25% discount is planned for May.

Though the reduction is less than last month’s 50% discount, my TRAM scam will still get you a (modest) discount if you just take the bus and metro. A TRAM 1, which gives access to the entire STM network (except metro stations in Laval) as well as commuter trains in the areas immediately surrounding downtown, costs $59.63 with the discount (normal price is $79.50), which is $8.87 less than the regular $68.50 STM pass. The TRAM 2, which will get you as far as Roxboro or Cedar Park, would cost $69.75, which is only $1.25 more.

That probably won’t be enough to repeat the experiment I did last month, but for those who think $9 is worth the effort, the option is there for you.

| Public transit

AMT rebate: mission accomplished

AMT rebate math

Today, as the Agence métropolitaine de transport handed out its rebate “compensation” coupons, I decided to put my game-the-system idea to the test. And it worked flawlessly.

You’ll recall I pointed out that the AMT “compensation” system was billed as a refund but wasn’t being organized in that way. Instead of asking people for their January passes and giving people half-refunds based on those passes (as the STM did in 2007), the AMT has instead discounted the price of its March, April and May monthly passes for anyone who can procure a coupon.

Normally, AMT multi-zone TRAM passes are more expensive than passes from individual transit agencies for obvious, logical reasons. But with this 50% rebate, that math is broken, and it’s cheaper to get a discounted AMT pass (which allows access to the entire STM network) than a regular STM-only pass.

The AMT’s way of controlling who got rebates was particularly stupid: Hand out coupons at train stations and assume that anyone there regularly takes that train and is entitled to a refund.

AMT employee hands out coupons at Central Station, complete with reflective vest (coupon disbursement is dangerous, don't you know?)

AMT employee hands out coupons at Central Station, complete with reflective vest (coupon disbursement is dangerous, don't you know?)

In my previous post, I suggested that you might need to pay for a train ticket if the coupons are being given out in a fare-paid area. As you can see, that isn’t necessary as the coupons are being handed out in front of the gates. Just go up and ask for one and you will receive.

And that’s what I did.

AMT Deux Montagnes rebate coupon

AMT Deux Montagnes rebate coupon

At the Lucien L’Allier station, it was similarly easy to procure a coupon. Only the one there was red. As far as I can tell, the only differences between the two coupons were the colour and the name of the line. Both were for 50% discounts for March, so I’m not quite sure why they bothered.

Just to be sure I wasn’t breaking any laws or anything, I read the fine print:

AMT Dorion/Rigaud coupon front and back

AMT Dorion/Rigaud coupon front and back

Well, that’s interesting. There really isn’t much fine print, other than a prohibition against using photocopies. Most of one side is instructions on how to get the rebate, and the other side is a simple form.

I filled it out while I was waiting in line. Even though it was only the 24th of the month, and 2:30 p.m., the line was pretty long:

Lineup at AMT service counter at Central Station

Lineup at AMT service counter at Central Station

When I got to buy my pass, I noticed two anti-fraud measures being used, though neither stopped me from saving on my pass. The first is that the serial number of the pass is written onto the coupon. This would be useful if any verification was made to the name on the coupon, but it isn’t. I could have put Patrick Lagacé’s name on there and they wouldn’t have known the difference. The second is that the pass given out has a star-shaped hole punched out of it, to denote the fact that it was sold with the rebate. This prevents someone from using the pass to try to get the second half of the rebate after the fact. (The procedure is obviously different for those using Opus.)

Though I could have checked the TRAM 1 box and gotten a pass for only $39.75, I decided I wouldn’t go that far. Instead, I opted for the TRAM 3 pass, which would not only allow me to take the train to the West Island, but use the Laval and Longueuil transit networks as well. It was only $15 more expensive than the TRAM 1, and still $14 cheaper than what I would have paid for an STM pass.

So next month I’ll do some travelling to Laval and Longueuil and see what’s going on over there.

Either way, mission accomplished. Any ideas what I should do with that extra $14?

The last day of coupon distribution is Thursday. The schedule is as follows:

  • 5:45-10am at all stations on the Deux Montagnes and Dorion/Rigaud lines
  • 10:30am to 3pm at Central Station
  • 12:15pm to 3:15pm at Lucien L’Allier
  • 5:45pm to 9:15pm at Lucien L’Allier
  • 7:30pm to 12:30am at Central Station

Discounted passes are on sale only at Lucien L’Allier, Central Station and Vendôme.  You can also buy passes or charge up Opus cards at the full fare and then bring your pass or receipt with the coupon to these stations after the fact to get a refund.

UPDATE (Feb. 26): The AMT is extending hours of its service centres to handle rebate requests, including being open Saturdays and Sundays. This won’t add chances to get coupons, but will make it a bit easier to get refunds once you have them.

UPDATE (Feb. 27): The Gazette’s Andy Riga reports that the AMT has given away more tickets than the two train lines have regular users. He theorizes this could be because of three reasons:

  1. People mistakenly taking two coupons, to give one to a friend or family member who already has one
  2. People who don’t normally buy passes are taking advantage of the huge discount
  3. Some people have read this post: “Some non-AMT users may also be using the coupons to get cut-rate access to buses and the métro. For example, a coupon bearer can buy a March TRAM pass – good on trains, buses and the métro – for $39.75 in Zone 1. That’s less than the $68.50 charged for a Société de transport de Montréal bus-and-métro pass.”
| Montreal, Public transit

How to save $25 off your next transit pass

The AMT has just announced that it is adding even more days to its coupon distribution for that 50% rebate off next month’s train passes for people who were inconvenienced by train problems over the past month and a half.

As I said previously, the AMT has no way of distinguishing those who were inconvenienced or delayed by train breakdowns from any other form of transit user. They are simply assuming that anyone who takes the train does so on a monthly pass and will continue to do so over the next two months.

So why not take advantage of that? Here’s how you can save $25 off your next STM transit pass, even if you’ve never taken the train and never plan to:

  1. Go to Central Station during coupon distribution times and pick up a coupon (if the coupons are given in the fare-paid area, you’ll have to buy a $4 single-use Zone 1 train ticket*)
  2. Between Feb. 20 and Feb. 28, go to Central Station again and buy a TRAM 1 monthly pass with the coupon. The price will be $79.50/2 = $39.75
  3. Use that instead of your $68.50 monthly STM pass

With those steps, you not only save $24.75 ($28.75 if you can get the coupon without taking the train) on your next monthly pass, but you can use the train all you want in Zone 1 (to Montpellier on the Deux Montagnes line and to Lachine on the Dorion line) during the month of March.

Better still, this scheme will also save you money with the 25% discounts in April and May.

If the AMT wants to throw money away, why not grab some?

Coupon distribution starts Wednesday during the morning rush hour. It continues Thursday and Friday, and Feb. 24 and 26 (where coupons will be given out during the day and evenings as well). People can also call 514 287-TRAM to find out where/when/how to get coupons.

*You can also grab a paper metro transfer and buy a “combined” train ticket for a smaller price.

| Montreal, Opinion, Public transit

AMT gives back … with coupons

The AMT today announced that they are going to be compensating users who have been inconvenienced by all the delays caused by train breakdowns and other issues over the past month.

Well, kind of, anyway.

What they’re actually doing is discounting the price of March, April and May TRAM passes for people who take the Deux Montagnes and Dorion/Rigaud lines. (The discounts are steep too, 50% for March, and 25% for the other months – though those are just for Deux Montagnes users.)

And how are they going to determine who uses these lines? Well, the brilliant strategists at the AMT have come up with this:

Un coupon de compensation sera distribué le mercredi 18 février en pointe du matin à l’embarquement dans toutes les gares des lignes Montréal/Deux-Montagnes et Montréal/Dorion-Rigaud.

In other words, they’re handing out coupons to people taking the train the morning of the 18th, and anyone who has the coupon can get the discount (but only if they get their passes at Central Station, Lucien L’Allier station or Vendôme station). There is no way to get the coupon other than using the train during morning rush hour on Feb. 18 (and then you have to repeat the process on March 18 and April 16 for the April and May passes).

UPDATE: The AMT has added Feb. 19 and 20 after complaints from transit users.

I can’t begin to describe how stupid this is. But I’ll take my best shot:

  • Not everyone who was inconvenienced is going to take the train on these days, and are going to get really pissed off that they can’t get a coupon any other way
  • Not everyone taking the train on these mornings will have been inconvenienced by the train breakdowns. And considering that a 50% reduction of the cost of a pass is a huge savings for people living far away (up to $100), some will probably go out of their way to take the morning train that day, making that particular morning commute even more unbearable.
  • This system offers no compensation for those who use tickets instead of a pass, or who don’t plan on using the train in March, April or May.
  • Most importantly, the people who were inconvenienced by the train breakdowns don’t care as much about compensation as they do fixing the problem and getting to work on time. This doesn’t do anything to fix that.

AMT’s train solution: Take the bus

Among the other things contained in the announcement, the AMT is reducing the capacity of trains on the Deux Montagnes line during rush hour, going from 10 cars to eight, so that repairs can be made. Since these cars are already overfilled, they’re setting up special buses to shuttle people between train stations and metro stations near the Deux Montagnes line. The STL is also increasing service to bus #26, which goes between the Ste. Dorothée station and Montmorency metro.

Back from the future

Another measure being taken is reversing schedule changes that were made earlier in the year on the Deux Montagnes line. The morning rush hour schedule, which involved more trains departing from Deux Montagnes, will be reverted to the 2008 schedule starting Feb. 16, since the rolling stock will be unable to handle the increased number of passengers and the increased hours of service.

No information available

Finally, the AMT put on its website a page which gives real-time information about train service.

| Montreal, Public transit

Fagstein’s Guide to Holiday Transit

Last year’s guide seems to have been well received, so I’m doing it again.

Here’s what to expect from the Montreal-area transit authorities for service this holiday season, including special holiday service schedules and free service days.

Once again, I ask that you have some sympathy for the bus or metro driver who has to work during the holidays getting whiny vomiting drunk people from A to B in thick snow.

Continue reading →

| Montreal, Public transit

AMT (finally) releases 2009 fare table

The AMT today finally released its fare table for 2009 (PDF), after previously announcing that rates would go up about 3.5%. (You’ll notice their release last week put the increased service and parking in ALL CAPS, but left the fare increases in lowercase.)

The 3.5% figure had actually been leaked through La Presse’s Bruno Bisson in October (he had said in September the AMT was considering a 4.3% fare increase). While they kept to that 3.5% for most of the monthly passes, the cash fares have gone up much higher (if only to keep to round numbers).

The biggest change to the fare structure is that “intermediate” will mean not just students 18-21, but now 18-25, bringing it in line with the STM’s “Carte Privilège” and similar systems at other transit networks.

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 6 Zone 7 Zone 8
Areas in this zone Downtown Montreal North end, St. Laurent, eastern West Island, between Pie IX and Highway 25 Longueuil, Laval, eastern and western tips of the island La Prairie, Île Perrot Vaudreuil, Deux Montagnes, Terrebonne, Repentigny, Sainte Julie, St. Bruno, Chambly, Candiac, St. Constant, Kahnawake, Châteauguay and Mercier Saint Lazare, Hudson, Rigaud, Blainville, Mascouche, Verchères, Beloeil, Marieville, Beauharnois Les Cèdres, Oka, Mirabel, L’Assomption, St. Sulpice Valleyfield, Laurentides, St. Jerome, Sorel, St. Hyacinthe,
Train stations in this zone Central Station to Montpellier, Lucien L’Allier to Lachine, LaSalle and Chabanel Du Ruisseau to Roxboro, Dorval to Cedar Park, Bois de Boulogne Beaconsfield to Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Île Bigras, St. Lambert, St. Hubert, plus all stations in Laval Île Perrot, Pincourt Grand Moulin, Deux Montagnes, Dorion, Vaudreuil, Rosemère, Ste. Thérèse, St. Bruno, St. Basile le Grand, Ste. Catherine, St. Constant, Delson, Candiac Hudson*, Rigaud*, Blainville, McMasterville, St. Hilaire St. Jérôme None
TRAM (regular fare) $79.50 ($77 +3.2%) $93 ($90 +3.3%) $109 ($105 +3.8%) $119 ($115 +3.5%) $138 ($133 +3.8%) $165 ($159 +3.8%) $191 ($185 +3.2%) $218 ($211 +3.3%)
TRAM (intermediate fare) $63.50 ($61.50 +3.2%) $74.50 ($72 +3.5%) $87 ($84 +3.6%) $95 ($92 +3.3%) $110 ($106 +3.8%) $132 ($127 +3.9%) $153 ($148 +3.4%) $174 ($169 +3.0%)
TRAM (reduced fare) $47.50 ($46 +3.3%) $56 ($54 +3.7%) $65.50 ($63 +4.0%) $71.50 ($69 +3.6%) $83 ($80 +3.8%) $99 ($95.50 +3.7%) $115 ($111 +3.6%) $131 ($127 +3.1%)
TRAIN only (regular) N/A N/A N/A $109 ($105 +3.8%) $117 ($113 +3.5%) $140 ($135 +3.7%) $162 ($157 +3.2%) N/A
TRAIN only (intermediate) N/A N/A N/A $87 ($84 +3.6%) $93.50 ($90.50 +3.3%) $112 ($108 +3.7%) $130 ($126 +3.2%) N/A
TRAIN only (reduced) N/A N/A N/A $65.50 ($63 +4.0%) $70 ($68 +2.9%) $84 ($81 +3.7%) $97 ($94 +3.2%) N/A
Six tickets (regular) $16 ($15.50 +3.2%) $18.50 ($18 +2.8%) $22 ($21 +4.8%) $24 ($23 +4.3%) $27.50 ($26.50 +3.8%) $33 ($32 +3.1%) $38 ($37 +2.7%) N/A
Six tickets (reduced) $9.50 (no change) $11 (no change) $13 ($12.50 +4.0%) $14.50 ($14 +3.6%) $16.50 ($16 +3.1%) $20 ($19 +5.3%) $23 ($22 +4.5%) N/A
Single regular fare $4 ($3.75 +6.7%) $4.75 ($4.50 +5.6%) $5.50 ($5.25 +4.8%) $6 ($5.75 +4.3%) $7 ($6.75 +3.7%) $8.25 ($8 +3.1%) $9.50 ($9.25 +2.7%) N/A
Single reduced fare $2.50 ($2.25 +11.1%) $2.75 (no change) $3.25 (no change) $3.50 (no change) $4.25 ($4 +6.3%) $5 ($4.75 +5.3%) $5.75 ($5.50 +4.5%) N/A

*The “promotion” that allows Zone 5 passes at Hudson and Rigaud stations continues in the new year.

For those who missed them, the fare tables for STM, STL and RTL were released earlier.

| Montreal, Public transit

AMT announces additional service on four train lines

The AMT today announced that it is adding departures on four of its five commuter train lines starting Jan. 12. (The Blainville line is the one left out.)

Though the overcrowded Deux Montagnes line gets the most new service with 26 new departures a week, the big changes are on the St. Hilaire and Candiac lines, which used to be unidirectional rush-hour services. Both lines now have lunch-hour departures in both directions, and St. Hilaire gets evening departures in both directions.

Details of the schedule changes are below. I’ve omitted schedule shifts of less than 10 minutes.

Montreal-Deux Montagnes

  • Weekdays: toward Montreal
    • New departure at 5:30am from Deux Montagnes becomes first train of the day (previous first departure was 5:50am, which stays the same)
    • 6:35am departure from Deux Montagnes is brought back to 6:20am
    • The 8am departure from Roxboro is replaced by a 7:50am departure from Deux-Montagnes (sorry, Pierrefonds residents used to their guaranteed seats)
    • A new departure is squeezed in from Deux Montagnes at 9:22am.
    • All but one morning inbound train (8:50am from Roxboro-Pierrefonds) now depart from Deux Montagnes. Train schedules between 8 and 10am in both directions are readjusted to let traffic through on the single track
    • A new departure is added at 10:25am, with subsequent departures pushed back by 30 minutes (11:25, 12:25, 1:25, 2:25)
    • Departures at 7:51, 8:51 and 9:51pm are made a half hour earlier (7:20, 8:25, 9:25)
    • An evening departure at 10:51 is removed
  • Weekdays: Toward Deux Montagnes
    • A new departure from Central Station at 7:55am
    • A new departure from Central Station at 3pm
    • Departures at 7pm and 7:40pm become 7:05pm and 7:30pm. The rest of the afternoon rush hour schedule is untouched
    • Last train of the day is now 12:15am instead of 12:30am
  • Saturdays: Toward Montreal
    • A new departure from Deux Montagnes at 8:55am means service every hour from 7-10am
    • A new departure from Deux Montagnes radically changes the afternoon/evening schedule: Departures at 3:55, 6:15 and 8:55 become 3:25, 4:25, 6:25 and 9:25
    • Last train of the day is at 11:25 instead of 11:40pm
  • Saturdays: Toward Deux Montagnes
    • Two new departures from Central Station in the morning at 8am and 10am (11am departure moved to noon)
    • 3pm departure from Central Station moved to 4:30pm
    • 10:50 departure becomes 10:30
    • Last train of the day is now 12:15am instead of 12:30am
  • Sundays: Toward Montreal
    • All departures from Deux Montagnes are now on the hour instead of five minutes before
    • New departure at 10am means two hours, not four, between inbound trains in the morning
  • Sundays: Toward Deux Montagnes
    • 10am departure is replaced by departures at 9am and 11am
    • Last train of the day is now 12:15am instead of 12:30am

Montreal-Dorion/Rigaud

  • Weekdays
    • New departure #114 from Vaudreuil to Lucien L’Allier at 6:40am (previous departures leave 5 minutes earlier)
    • New departure #121 from Lucien-L’Allier to Vaudreuil at 4:20pm (next departure is moved from 4:30 to 4:40)
  • Saturdays/Sundays: No changes

Montreal-Mont St. Hilaire

  • Weekdays: Toward Montreal (all departures from Mont St. Hilaire)
    • First ever inbound afternoon trains with new departures at 1:45 and 7pm from St. Hilaire
  • Weekdays: Toward Mont St. Hilaire (all departures to Mont St. Hilaire)
    • New departure at 12:30pm (previously earliest departure was 4:30pm)
    • New departure at 9:15pm (previously latest departure was 6:25pm)

Montreal-Delson/Candiac

  • Weekdays: Toward Montreal (all departures from Candiac)
    • 7am departure moves to 7:10*
    • New departure at 8am
    • 9am departure moves to 8:50
    • New departure at 1:20pm becomes first afternoon inbound train for this line
  • Weekdays: Toward Delson/Candiac (all departures to Candiac)
    • New departure at 12:20pm (previously, first departure was 3:40pm)
    • New departure at 4:15pm

UPDATE (Dec. 12): A full week later, this news hits the newspaper.

*UPDATE (Dec. 27): And public protests have resulted in changes to the changes in the Delson line. The morning 7am departure stays, as does the evening 5:15 departure (which was to be moved back to 5:10).