Blue Line (Montreal Metro)

The Blue Line (French: Ligne bleue) is one of the four lines of the Montreal Metro in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the fourth to be built, notwithstanding its alternate official name of "Line 5" (Line 3 was planned, but never built). Unlike the other three routes, the Blue Line does not serve the city's main Metro junction at Berri-UQAM.

Blue Line / Ligne Bleue
Overview
TypeRapid transit
SystemMontreal Metro
LocaleMontreal, Quebec, Canada
TerminiSnowdon (south)
Saint-Michel (north)
Stations12
Operation
Opened16 June 1986
Operator(s)Société de transport de Montréal (STM)
Depot(s)Plateau d'Youville (connected to line 2, for MR-73 cars)
Snowdon tail tracks and connecting track (connected to line 2, for maintenance of way equipment)
Rolling stockBombardier Transportation MR-73 cars
Technical
Line length9.7 km (6.0 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationThird rail, 750 V DC on the guide bars at either side of the track
Operating speed40 km/h (25 mph)
Route map
Anjou
 Langelier
 Lacordaire
 Viau
 Pie IX
planned extension
Saint-Michel
D'Iberville
 Fabre
 Jean-Talon
Orange Line
← to Montmorency│to Berri-UQAM ↓
 De Castelnau
to Youville Shops
 Parc
Acadie
 Outremont
 Édouard-Montpetit
 Université-de-Montréal
 Côte-des-Neiges
Orange Line
← to Côte-Vertu│to Berri-UQAM ↑
 Snowdon
connection to Orange Line
proposed future
 Côte-St-Luc
 Cavendish
 Montréal-Ouest
 Lafleur

The line is served by a single yard located between Parc and de Castelnau stations which is completely underground and occupies a small portion underneath Jarry Park. Another service facility is located at the 500-metre end tracks following Snowdon station, but is rarely used by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM).

History

Construction of Snowdon station began in 1975, with two platform levels. In 1979, the provincial government decided to build the Blue Line. On 16 June 1986 the first section, between Saint-Michel to De Castelnau opened.

This was followed by the section from De Castelnau to Parc on 15 June 1987 and Parc to Snowdon on 4 January 1988. The opening of the intermediate station Acadie was delayed for almost three months. It was finally opened on 28 March 1988. Other planned extensions at both ends of the route have so far been omitted due to financial reasons.

Proposed extensions

The former Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT, now ARTM) published a study, Vision 2020, in December 2011. According to this, the Blue Line will be extended northeast of Saint-Michel to Anjou. There were a total of five planned new stations: Pie-IX, Viau, Lacordaire, Langelier and Anjou.[1] The terminus would be located at the Galeries d'Anjou shopping centre, near the junction of Autoroute 25 and Autoroute 40. On 20 September 2013, a 7-km extension northeast to St. Leonard and Anjou was announced by the STM and the Quebec government.[2] The provincial government announced that the extension would proceed and committed $38.8 million to set up a "Project Office" tasked with preparing detailed financial and technical plans within two years. The construction start was due for 2021 with a completion date in 2025.[3] On 28 May 2014, it was announced that the project would be reviewed after a new provincial government took over, and that if accepted again, construction would start in 2021, which was confirmed by the STM's new 2025 Plan.[3] As of July 2019, STM's preliminary schedule shows that construction could begin in 2021, enabling the new section to open in 2026. Federal funding is expected to cover 40 percent of the cost.[4]

Another proposed expansion involves extending the Blue Line southwest from Snowdon. This extension would serve Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Côte-Saint-Luc and Montreal West.[5] This Metro extension has been put on hold indefinitely.

The Édouard-Montpetit station is located near the northern entrance of the Mount Royal Tunnel. Plans to link the station to the AMT's Deux-Montagnes line were not pursued because the height difference between the two levels is 50 metres. In April 2016, this interchange received renewed interest as part of the proposed Réseau express métropolitain, which will replace the Deux-Montagnes line with rapid transit.

Future extension

While the proposed Metro Blue Line extension to St. Leonard and Anjou announced in September 2013 was not pursued following the defeat of the then-Parti Québécois government in 2014, on 9 April 2018 it was announced that a final commitment to the project had been made by both the provincial and federal governments to fund and complete the extension; the work is slated to begin in 2021 with a completion date in 2026.[6]

Rolling stock
Main article: MR-73

Since 1986, Blue Line trains are made up of MR-73 cars. Each train consists of two segments of three cars. Blue Line trains are thus shorter than Orange and Green Line trains. Some nine-car MR-73 trains were transferred from the Orange to the Blue Line, but these had to be shortened to six-car configurations.

List of stations
Station Inauguration date Odonym Namesake Transfers/Connections Location
Snowdon 4 January 1988 Snowdon Street; Snowdon neighbourhood Name of area's former landowner Orange Line Côte-des-Neiges–
Notre-Dame-
de Grâce
Côte-des-Neiges Côte-des-Neiges Road Former Village of Côte-des-Neiges
(name Notre-Dame-des-Neiges (Our Lady of the Snow) dates to 18th century)
Université-de-Montréal Université de Montréal
Édouard-Montpetit Édouard-Montpetit Boulevard Édouard Montpetit, Université de Montréal professor Réseau express métropolitain (future)
Outremont Outremont Avenue; borough of Outremont Named for a prominent estate
(Outremont means "other side of the mountain")		 Outremont
Acadie 28 March 1988 De L'Acadie Boulevard Commemorates bicentennial of the expulsion of the Acadians Villeray–
Saint-Michel–
Parc-Extension
Parc 15 June 1987 Park Avenue Mont Royal Park At Parc station:
De Castelnau 16 June 1986 De Castelnau Street Édouard de Castelnau, French soldier
Jean-Talon Jean Talon Street Jean Talon, intendant of New France Orange Line
Fabre Fabre Street Édouard-Charles Fabre, first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Montreal
D'Iberville D'Iberville Street Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
(French explorer, founder of Louisiana)
Saint-Michel Saint-Michel Boulevard; neighbourhood of Saint-Michel (formerly Ville Saint-Michel) Saint-Michel; long-standing name
Pie-IX (future) 2026 Pie-IX Boulevard To be changed Montreal bus rapid transit
Viau (future) Viau Boulevard To be changed Saint-Léonard
Lacordaire (future) Lacordaire Boulevard To be changed
Langelier (future) Langelier Boulevard To be changed
Anjou (future) Borough of Anjou To be changed Anjou
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See also

References
  1. "Électrification des transports: le prolongement de la ligne bleue toujours à l’étude". Metro, 16 October 2015
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/08/29/la-stm-voit-grand-pour-2025
  4. July 3, Presse Canadienne Updated; 2019 (3 July 2019). "Trudeau expected to confirm funding for Montreal's Blue Line extension | Montreal Gazette". Retrieved 4 July 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. "Railway Gazette: Montréal's 2020 vision". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  6. Bruemmer, René (9 April 2018). "Montreal métro: Green light for Blue Line extension". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
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