No promises for West Islanders

As provincial election day approaches like a speeding locomotive, the Liberal Party of Canada and the Parti Québecois have both been quick to unveil plans for improved commuter rail service, but few of their promises will come as great relief for West Island users of public transit. "(Jacques Cartier MNA) Geoff Kelley and me, we made some representation to the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT)," said Robert Baldwin MNA Pierre Marsan in an interview with The Chronicle when asked whether or not some of Premier Jean Charest's announced plans for service improvement touch upon West Island areas.

At a downtown Montreal press conference last Thursday, Charest announced $260 million in improvements to train service, but according to national media, the bulk of that will go toward increasing the frequency of train trips to Laval and Montreal's south shore suburbs.

The expanded train trips mean an additional 230 train departures each week, or an additional 264,000 available seats. "I think (the train improvement's) still for us," Marsan said.

He added he would hope to make improvement of public transit a part of his next mandate if re-elected. Marsan has been Robert Baldwin's MNA since 1994. In last year's general elections, he regained his seat with 74.76 per cent of the popular vote.

Not to be outdone by Charest's promises, Parti Québecois leader Pauline Marois also made public transit-related promises last week, pledging $3.5 billion over 10 years on improving transit in Greater Montreal for both buses and trains, as well as the creation of a tramway network.

According to a PQ press release, the bulk of improvements are not for any areas touching the West Island, save for the high-speed shuttle train linking downtown Montreal to Pierre Elliot Trudeau International airport in Dorval.

However, when The Chronicle last reported on that project, division of costs was unclear between the different parties involved, from the AMT to Aéroports de Montréal itself, as well as different levels of government.

Alexandre Pagé-Chassé, PQ candidate, acknowledged the public transit difficulties faced by West Islanders. "Oh I'm very familiar with them," he said, recalling his days using trains to get to university. However, Pagé-Chassé insisted the West Island has it better off than the regions Marois highlighted in her promises, such as Laval or Montreal's East End.

This is Pagé-Chassé's second run as PQ candidate in Robert Baldwin. In 2007 he collected 5.33 per cent of the vote, finishing in fourth place.