Canadian Railroads > Montreal and north

My planned trip to Winnepeg was changed to Quebec and the family & I will be headed there in a couple of days for some winter snow fun.  We will arrive at Trudeau Airport at lunchtime and plan to sightsee in Montreal before heading north (only an hour or so drive north of the city) for the remainder of the weekend.  I understand there is a large railroad museum in the southern environs of the city, but not sure that will fit into plans.  A couple of questions:

* Are there any rail attractions north of the city, or within say an hour from Montreal in the northerly direction?  I don't plan to drive too far given the weather and time of year, but if there is anything interesting kind of close, we may check it out.

* If you were to have an Friday afternoon to spend in Montreal, what would/should you do?  This would pertain to anything of general interest and not rail-related.   

* What about a Light Rail sytem?  anything operate in the city?

If you're heading up to Tremblant you might be interested in Le Petit Train du Nord bike trail, a former CP branch:
http://gobiking.ca/quebec-rides/ptit-train-du-nord/
https://thegreattrail.ca/journeys/winter-fun-along-le-ptit-train-du-nord-lineark-park/

Buy a one zone commuter rail ticket and spend an hour or so watching the PM rush hour at Montreal West station of Amt/Exo trains procession.

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P Wrote:
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>
> * Are there any rail attractions north of the
> city, or within say an hour from Montreal in the
> northerly direction?  I don't plan to drive too
> far given the weather and time of year, but if
> there is anything interesting kind of close, we
> may check it out.

Barely - Commuter trains (EXO, formerly AMT) run up to St-Jerome. Shortline Quebec Gatineau has their base of operations in the Montreal area at Ste-Therese (a yard is there).

> * If you were to have an Friday afternoon to spend
> in Montreal, what would/should you do?  This
> would pertain to anything of general interest and
> not rail-related.   

Perhaps downtown, but Montreal has too much to see and do both rail and non-rail related to pick just one area.

> * What about a Light Rail sytem?  anything
> operate in the city?

Not yet, but that is coming (look up the REM light rail project). At present you have heavy commuter rail and Montreal's Metro (subway system).

Michael

P Wrote:
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> * What about a Light Rail sytem?  anything
> operate in the city?

Not Light Rail.....but you can ride the EXO (AMT) electric MU's out through the Mount Royal Tunnel from Central Station to Deux-Montagnes.

Schedule here:

https://exo.quebec/Media/Default/pdf/section4/Horaires-Train/Horaire-ligne-Deux-Montagnes.pdf

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Just a note.  EXO service is severely limited on the weekends.

NO service on the the St. Jerome line Saturday or Sunday.

A cold place to stand at Montreal West station to see a bare handful of trains on the weekends.

As GH said a trip on the Two Mountains line would get you into downtown Montreal and then able to explore the Metro and the underground city without venturing outside.

Hope this helps.

BTW Montreal was hit with 35CM;s of snow yesterday and today and it is still snowing.

Have fun.

4489 Wrote:
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> Just a note.  EXO service is severely limited on
> the weekends.
>
> NO service on the the St. Jerome line Saturday or
> Sunday.

EXO service is indeed severely limited on weekends, but there is partial service on that line on the weekends - from St-Jerome to the Metro station of De la Concorde in Laval.

https://exo.quebec/Media/Default/pdf/section4/Horaires-Train/Horaire-ligne-Saint-J%C3%A9r%C3%B4me.pdf

Michael

Two Mountains line no longer has weekend service.

St. Jerome line on weekends only runs as far in as Zone 3. I didn't think AMT sold any ticket unless Zone 1 is one end of your trip. How do they handle a transfer to METRO, or do you pay a Tram fare or a  separate STM fare ?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/19 08:24 by joemvcnj.