After last year's winter horribilus , The Metropolitan Transport Agency is promising commuters this winter, trains will run more smoothly.
Day after day, in the middle of the coldest weeks of winter, commuters of the Dorion-Rigaud were left stranded as overcrowded trains passed them by. Some trains never showed up at all.. To make matters worse there were no annoucements advising commuters when and even if the next train was coming.
But the AMT is promising this year will be different. Agency president Joel Gauthier said the agency is putting $159 million towards improving service and communication to clients.
The planned changes include :
-equipping each station with a new digital screen allowing commuters too see their trains's status.
- upgrading speaker systems and the AMT"s website.
-starting in December, riders will be able to sign up to receive emails or SMS messages on their mobile phones warning about delays of more than 10 minutes.
- 40 heated switches will be installed on its tracks to make sure they won’t freeze in the cold.
- a 300 foot-long heated shelter for waiting passengers is being tested out at the Vaudreuil station with plans to eventually have one installed at all train stations.
And there's even more good news for commuters.
Next month, new double decker Bombardier trains will begin arriving. Those trains will be available to South Shore commuters first. They'll be used on West Island lines by spring 2010.
Nearly 16,000 commuters use the Dorion-Rigaud train line each day. Last year, many were so frustrated with the sub-standard train service, they turned away from public transportation and began driving their cars into the city.
Gauthier hopes these changes and improvements will help bring those commuters back to the trains while restoring the AMT's reputation.
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