The AMT inaugurates its Lachine Maintenance Centre

Cutting-edge technology centre is achieved through collaboration between PPP Canada and the Ministère des transports du Québec

MONTRÉAL, May 13, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) proudly inaugurated its new Lachine Maintenance Centre this morning, in the presence of Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport of Canada, Jacques Daoust, Ministre des Transports, de la Mobilité durable et l'Électrification des transports, and Claude Dauphin, Mayor of Lachine. This cutting-edge facility will enable the AMT to perform maintenance on all its trains that travel on the Candiac, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil-Hudson lines, and to meet operational requirements related to its activities.

Mr. Garneau accepted the AMT's invitation to visit the maintenance centre and then spoke to the media:
"A well-planned infrastructure generates economic growth and creates jobs, in addition to supporting communities and bequeathing a lasting heritage to Canadians. The Lachine Maintenance Centre stands as a shining example of this. The Government of Canada is proud to support projects like this one, which will provide a long-term solution to the development of public transit in the Montréal metropolitan region, in addition to improving the reliability and safety of the network for its passengers."

Mr. Daoust continued, pointing out the Québec government's support for the project. "This new maintenance centre is a perfect example of the role our government wishes to play in funding transportation infrastructures that benefit our communities and create jobs. We stepped up to the plate to invest in the development of public transit in the region."

"Together with the Canal train station, to be completed by year's end, we are happy to see the Lachine Maintenance Centre, the AMT's first centralized maintenance centre of such a size for trains running on the CP network, being set up in our municipality. On top of the benefits the Centre will bring in terms of jobs, the AMT's choice is another eloquent testimonial to our industrial park's advantages and strategic location," said Mayor Claude Dauphin.

Paul Côté, President and CEO of the AMT, wrapped up by pointing out that "ridership on commuter trains running on the CP network has more than doubled in the past 20 years, rising from 2.9 million passengers per year in 1996 to 7.7 million in 2015. This made it vitally important to build a maintenance centre with modern facilities to enable us to perform full maintenance more quickly and more flexibly on our rolling stock running on the Candiac, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil-Hudson lines. Mission accomplished! Over the past few years, we have introduced effective planning and preventive rolling-stock maintenance measures that have positively impacted the performance and quality of our customer service. Thanks to these new facilities, we will be able to further improve our maintenance cycle, thereby extending our rolling stock's useful life."

Project funding
The $118.9 million project was completed with financial contributions from PPP Canada, from the Ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité durable et de l'Électrification des transports, and from the AMT.

The business model for the project, selected in collaboration with La Société québécoise des infrastructures, allowed the Lachine Maintenance Centre to be completed through a single contract for the design, construction and short-term financing of the project by a single design/build agency.

The Lachine Maintenance Centre in brief
Covering a 14-hectare site in an industrial zone of Lachine, the Lachine Maintenance Centre has sufficient space to accommodate 13 train sets. It also has a service and inspection workshop that can contain a train set of 10 cars and two locomotives, and a major repair shop containing heavy equipment such as a bridge crane, a 100-tonne decoupling table and automated inspection systems. Other equipment includes an automated train wash that cleans the exterior of a train set in five minutes.

The Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) is a government agency with a metropolitan vocation whose mission is to expand and plan public transit services in order to improve commuting efficiency in the Greater Montréal Area. The AMT operates 6 commuter train lines, 61 stations, 1 metropolitan express bus line, 71 park-and-ride lots, 16 metropolitan terminals and over 100 km of reserved lanes. Annual commuter train ridership is close to 20 million trips, ranking the Montréal region sixth in North America. For more information, visit amt.qc.ca/en.

To see photos: flickr.com/photos/agencemetropolitainedetransport

SOURCE Agence métropolitaine de transport

Image with caption: "Logo: Agence métropolitaine de transport (CNW Group/Agence métropolitaine de transport)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160513_C5808_PHOTO_EN_689903.jpg

Media Contact: Fanie Clément St-Pierre, Advisor - Media Relations, Agence métropolitaine de transport, Tel.: [phone], extension 4143, [email protected]