BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

The City of Montreal’s executive committee recently approved a $90,000 contribution to the first phase of a $2.4 million Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) study on a prospective commuter train line linking the Pierre Elliott Trudeau (PET) International Airport in Dorval to the downtown core. The expense will be completely absorbed by the Agglomeration Council.

According to Montreal spokesman Darren Becker, the other members of the project’s planning committee — which includes Transport Canada, Transport Quebec, the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT), and the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) — will be putting forth equal amounts for the study’s phases.

While the first-phase recommendations are expected to be in this fall, ADM communications director Robert Girouard said the full study will be complete in 2008. It will look at various aspects, such as what kind of trains should be used, how many, and what route is best.

“We’re probably talking about using existing infrastructure,” Becker said, referring to the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National rail lines.

According to Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau, a train line between the airport and the downtown core is a necessity.

“For the people on the West Island, for the airport and everything, I think it’s a must,” he said. “We have to find ways for the residents not to use their cars.”

Rouleau added the inability to secure more commuter train hours on the AMT lines because of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific freight operations, as well as growth and rising passenger numbers at PET are all more reasons a new connection is needed.

“This is all adding a lot of traffic...The train is the solution,” Rouleau said. “It’s expensive, between $500 million and $700 million depending on the route, but it’s needed for the future.”

Becker said the airport commuter line is one of Montreal’s 21 projects the city wants to complete over the next years. He said the train line should be in place by 2011.

“This one is a priority,” he said, adding the airport-to-downtown connection would give West Island commuters more options. “Before making any final decisions, we want to incorporate everything, take note of everything, and see what the engineers have to say, and then come up with a final route.”