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Press ReleaseFor Immediate Distribution

OUTCOMETrain de l'Ouest met with AMT

Montral, November 28, 2011 Members of Train de l'Ouest andWest Island mayors met with the Agence mtropolitaine de transport(AMT) after their semi-annual public consultation meeting in Ville delIle Perrot on November 22nd. This meeting was one of five the AMTorganized to present its strategic vision for 2020.

After the meeting, Baie d'Urf mayor Maria Tutino stated: I ampleased to see that the Train de l'Ouest is included as a major projectto be undertaken in the plans for 2020. It shows progress.

The discussions with AMT president Jol Gauthier were very positive.The mayors asked for further details on the feasibility studies currentlyunder way, their scope and their time frame. Mr. Gauthier replied thatthe studies were on track and covered a wide range of aspects such asthe actual location of the new tracks, the simulation of services andthe installations required as well as the process of acquisition of theright of way.

Train de l'Ouest brought up two issues.

Train de lOuest is disappointed that there was no announcement of

additional service on the Vaudreuil line as an element of the mitigationmeasures for work done on the Turcot exchange. AMT replied that withthe current systems of signalling there were no slots in the schedulefor additional commuter service. However, Mr. Gauthier mentionedthat AMT and CP are in the process of improving the signalling byinstalling new equipment. This should be completed by the winter of2011. It would permit that the time intervals between trains could bereduced from the 20 minutes actually and might allow for additionaltrains.

Train de l'Ouest spokesperson, Clifford Lincoln, also stressed the

importance of specific infrastructure investment to make the Train del'Ouest more attractive. Mr. Lincoln insisted that AMT study thepossibilities of transforming Lucien L'Allier into a modern intermodalstation integrated to the bus network of the STM and with betteraccess to the metro. He also brought up the importance of studyingthe opportunities of development at Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue to betterserve the future needs of MacDonald Campus and John Abbott CEGEP.

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The next priority of Train de l'Ouest is to meet with the QuebecMinister of Transport, Mr. Pierre Moreau, to acquaint him with theneeds and opportunities of improved commuter service to the WestIsland and Vaudreuil. The main objective of this meeting is to convincethe Quebec government to allocate in the 2012 budget a specific

contribution to the Train de l'Ouest project as will be set out by thestudies underway. Furthermore, mayors will ask the minister to takeadvantage of the new signalling installations which will allow anincrease of the number of trains between Vaudreuil and downtown.Train de l'Ouest wants to urge Quebec to fund additional trains as oneof its mitigating measures for the Turcot exchange.

Clifford Lincoln added: We recognize Quebec is supporting additionalbus service to the West Island, but more trains are a complementaryoff road solution to ease congestion on highway 20 as a result of workon the Turcot exchange. This will stimulate increased ridership. We

hope Minister Moreau will be sensitive to the request since his ownregion on the South shore has benefitted significantly from increasedcommuter rail service this summer. We also expect the government toallocate a specific contribution to the Train de l'Ouest in the nextbudget.

Thanks to the support of Senator Larry Smith and all the MP's from thewestern suburbs, Train de l'Ouest also hopes to meet with the federalminister of Transport to explain the impact of improved commuterservice. Since railways are a federal responsibility, there is anopportunity for the federal government to support development of

commuter rail.

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INFORMATIONValrie Gonzalo514 626-6976gonzalo@videotron.ca

mailto:gonzalo@videotron.camailto:gonzalo@videotron.ca