Exo (public transit)

Exo's parent agency, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), is charged with transportation planning for the Greater Montreal area.

Exo operates commuter train service as well as the bus service outside of the three main population centres of Greater Montreal. In these areas service is provided by the Société de Transport de Montréal on the Island of Montreal, the Société de Transport de Laval in Laval, and the Réseau de transport de Longueuil for the urban agglomeration of Longueuil.

The interior of an Exo commuter train

Exo's commuter trains are its highest-profile division. It has two types of trains: electric multiple unit (EMU) trains, used on the Deux-Montagnes line, and diesel-electric push-pull trains, used on all the others. The Deux-Montagnes line was electrified because of the 4.8 km (3 mi) long poorly ventilated tunnel under Mount Royal to Central Station. Diesel trains through the tunnel were at one time restricted and are now prohibited; the diesel-powered trains of the Mont-Saint-Hilaire line, Via Rail and Amtrak all arrive at Central Station from the direction opposite the tunnel.

The Exo commuter trains operate on tracks owned by either Canadian National or Canadian Pacific. The Mont-Saint-Hilaire line run on CN trackage and operate out of Central Station, while the Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme, and Candiac lines run on CP trackage and operate out of Lucien L'Allier terminus, beside the historic Windsor Station. The Saint-Jérôme line also runs on Canadian Pacific (CP) trackage and on the RTM's own trackage between Sainte-Thérèse and Saint-Jérôme.

The Deux-Montagnes line, including trackage and all infrastructure, as well as the Mount Royal tunnel, is fully owned by the RTM.[5]

Operation of all commuter rail was provided by contract to CN and CP (on their respective rail networks) until June 30, 2017. Operations were taken over by Bombardier Transportation beginning July 1, 2017, on an 8-year contract.[6]

The train lines are integrated with the bus and Metro network maintained by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM).

The greater Montreal area is divided into 8 fare zones. Starting from downtown Montreal, they stretch outwards in all directions. The first three zones are within the cities of Montreal, Laval and Longueuil only. The commuter train fare system is based on the assumption that the user is travelling to or from downtown. It is the same price, for example, to travel within zone 3 or from zone 3 to zone 2 as opposed to travel from zone 3 to zone 1.

To use the train, passengers must have a validated TRAM or TRAIN fare that covers the furthest zone travelled. TRAM fares provide access to the Montreal Metro and buses within the fare zone without any additional payment while the TRAIN fares are only valid on commuter trains. Tickets can be purchased individually or in a six-trip card Single and 6-trip TRAM fares are available for zones 1, 2, and 3 only, and are valid only on STM buses. Regular users can get a monthly pass if they have an OPUS card. Tickets and passes for commuter trains are valid for any line, as long as the ticket is used within 120 minutes from the time of purchase or validation. Travel is limited to the zone for which the ticket is purchased, or any lower-numbered zone, but not a higher-numbered one. For example, a zone 5 ticket is valid for zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, but not zones 6, 7, and 8. Local bus tickets and passes are not valid on commuter trains. There are no faregates; instead, a proof-of-payment system is used, where fare inspectors randomly check tickets.

All fares are available in a cheaper "reduced" category for children 6 to 15 years old, students 16 and 17 years old, and seniors that are 65 or older. Additionally, monthly passes are available in a "student" category (which is cheaper than the regular fare but more than the reduced fare) for students 18 to 25 years old. To benefit from the reduced or student fares, the passenger must have a reduced-fare OPUS card with their name and photo on it. Travel on the commuter trains is free for anyone 5 and under as well as children 6 to 11 years old travelling with an adult.

Following the introduction of the OPUS, smart card system tickets and passes are now sold by automated vending machines at each station. The machines accept cash, credit and debit cards. Purchases of more than $80 must be paid by cards. Tickets and passes are also sold at a few stores near the suburban stations. Consult the full list on the RTM's website.[7][8] Passes are valid for a calendar month, and are normally on sale from the 20th of the previous month to the 5th of their month of validity. Passengers can also subscribe to OPUS+ which automatically debits the passenger's bank account or credit card and adds the pass to the passenger's OPUS card.

Exo has a variety of rolling stock, some of it acquired from GO Transit, the rest built specifically for it. There are a total of 256 cars and locomotives in the fleet.

Locomotives

An MR-90 train on the Deux-Montagnes line

An ALP-45DP train from Vaudreuil-Hudson at Vendôme station

An F59PHI train parked at Lucien-L'Allier station on track 4

Exo Locomotives

Maker	Model	Number in Service	Numbered	Comments
General Motors	F59PHI	11	1320-1330	Used on the Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme, and Candiac lines.
General Motors	F59PH	10	1340-1349	Acquired from GO Transit. Are used on the Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme, and Mont-Saint-Hilaire lines.
Bombardier	ALP-45DP	20	1350-1369	Used on Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme, Deux-Montagnes, and Mascouche Lines.[9]
Bombardier	MR-90	58	400s	Single-level electric multiple unit used exclusively on the Deux-Montagnes line.

A schedule display board at Mont-Royal station

Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) had long operated commuter trains in the Montreal area, but by the 1980s, their services had dwindled to one route each. The Société de transport de la communauté urbaine de Montréal (STCUM), or Montreal Urban Community Transportation Corporation (MUCTC), which already managed Metro and bus services across the Island of Montreal, assumed management of CN's Deux-Montagnes commuter service and CP's Rigaud service in 1982 as the two railways began scaling back their services.

In 1997, management and financing of both lines was transferred to the newly created Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), which had been established to distribute funding and coordinate transportation planning among the numerous transit operators throughout the Greater Montreal Region. Later that year, the AMT inaugurated service between Blainville and Jean-Talon (now Parc) train station in Montreal's Park Extension district, connecting to the Metro at Parc . Originally, the service was designed to provide a temporary alternative for motorists from Laval and the North Shore of Montreal, while the Highway 117 Dufresne Bridge was being repaired. The service proved to be so popular that the AMT continued to fund it, and even extended a number of trains to the Lucien-L'Allier station downtown in 1999, and continues to provide off-peak daytime weekday service on this line. The service was extended further north to Saint-Jérôme in 2007.

In 2000, the AMT inaugurated its service to McMasterville (which runs along a CN line), and later extended it to Mont-Saint-Hilaire in 2002.

Montréal-Ouest station in Montreal West

In 2001, the AMT initiated a pilot project, launching service on a fifth line (using CP tracks) to Delson. This was later extended to Candiac in 2005. More information about the history of each line can be found in their respective articles.

In 2014, the AMT acquired the entire Deux-Montagnes line from CN, including the right of way, infrastructure, trackage, other railway equipment, grounds, curb lanes, rights in the Mount Royal tunnel and air rights, in a $97 million transaction.[5]

On June 1, 2017, the AMT was disbanded to become the Réseau de transport métropolitain, then Exo, the new agency in charge of operating commuter rail and metropolitan bus services,[14] while the Autorité régionale de transport became in charge of managing, integrating and planning public transportation in Greater Montreal.

An Exo commuter bus in Downtown Montreal.

An Exo commuter coach at Mansfield Terminal in Downtown Montreal, headed for Sainte-Martine.

Exo runs multiple bus lines through its subsidiaries serving Montréal suburbs. One of them, the Express Chevrier 90, also called Express Terminus Centre-Ville 90 — operated by the RTL in Longueuil (using Van Hool AG300 buses) and links the Brossard-Chevrier Park and Ride in Brossard to the Downtown Terminus.

Exo operates all commuter bus services for the North Shore and South Shore suburbs, excepting the cities of Longueuil and Laval, which have their own transit agencies.

In 2018, Exo carried 174,710 passengers on a typical weekday — 77,210 on the trains and 97,500 by commuter bus, including adapted transport.[2]

• Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain

• Official website