AMT Mount Royal tunnel upgrade eyed

Montreal's Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) plans to commit C$40 million to upgrade its Mount Royal tunnel to accommodate diesel-hauled passenger trains, which would begin using the retrofitted tunnel in late 2013.

The cost of such environmental mitigation would be added to the current C$671 million cost of implementing AMT’s Train de l’Est line, linking downtown Montreal with Mascouche, Que. The project originally was expected to cost C$300 million.

Concerns over the tunnel’s inability to handle diesel exhaust fumes, along with a lack of updated safety and evacuation infrastructure, has driven the revised plans, according to local media and local rail advocates.

AMT spokeswoman Brigitte Léonard said the agency is working on a “final business case” regarding tunnel upgrades, which will be reviewed by the Parti Québécois government, recently elected.

The Mount Royal tunnel is owned by Canadian National, but at present is only used by AMT’s Deux Montagnes regional passenger line, which is electrified. AMT has acquired 20 ALP-45DP dual-mode locomotives from Bombardier Transportation, at a cost of C$308 million, in part to operate through the tunnel. The new locomotives are not in operation at the moment pending a review by the Transportation Safety Board following a derailment last year, but are expected to return shortly.