View source for Mascouche line

{{Short description|Commuter rail service in Greater Montreal, Quebec}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Train de l'Est|REM de l'Est|Gare de l'Est (disambiguation){{!}}Gare de l'Est}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox rail line
 | box_width       =
 | name            = Mascouche
 | color           = {{rcr|Exo|15}}
 | logo            = {{ric|Exo|15|size=32px}}
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 | image           = Mascouche SMMN.jpg
 | image_width     = 250px
 | image_alt       =
 | caption         = Outbound train at Saint-Michel-Montréal-Nord station
 | type            = [[Commuter rail]]
 | system          = [[Exo commuter rail]]
 | status          =
 | locale          = [[Greater Montreal]]
 | start           = [[Mascouche station|Mascouche]]
 | end             = [[Ahuntsic station (Exo)|Ahuntsic]]; [[Montreal Central Station|Central Station]]
 | stations        = 11
 | routes          =
 | daily_ridership = 1,529 (2024)<ref name="2024ridership" />
 | ridership2      = 399,177 (2024)<ref name="2024ridership">{{Cite web | url= https://exo.quebec/Media/Default/pdf/a-propos/medias-publications/publications/exo-ra2024-vf-acc.pdf | title=Rapport annuel 2024 | language=fr | trans-title= 2024 annual report}}</ref>
 | open            = {{start date and age|2014|12|01}}
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 | operator        = [[Alstom]]
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 | linenumber      = 15
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 | speed_km/h      = 120
 | speed_mph       = 75
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 | website         = [https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/train/mascouche/0#Informations Exo – Mascouche line]
 | map             = {{switcher
 | {{maplink-road|from=Mascouche line.map}} Mascouche line highlighted in magenta <hr />
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'''Mascouche''' (also designated '''exo15''', known during planning as '''Repentigny–Mascouche''') is a [[commuter rail]] service in [[Greater Montreal]], Quebec. It is operated by [[Exo (public transit)|Exo]], the organization that operates the [[Exo commuter rail|commuter rail]] network across this region.

Opened on December 1, 2014, by Exo's predecessor agency, the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), the Montreal region's sixth commuter train line required the construction of 10 new train stations, several civil engineering structures, and 13&nbsp;km of new railway track. This includes some track in the [[median]] of [[Quebec Autoroute 640|Autoroute 640]] between [[Repentigny, Quebec|Repentigny]] and [[Mascouche]].

Beginning on May 11, 2020, the Mascouche line was rerouted around the [[Mount Royal Tunnel]], bypassing {{stl|Exo|Mont-Royal}} and {{stl|Exo|Canora}} stations due to the construction of the [[Réseau express métropolitain]] (REM).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Katelyn |title=Here's how to get around the Mount Royal tunnel closure |url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/here-s-how-to-get-around-the-mount-royal-tunnel-closure-1.4933738 |website=CTV News Montreal |access-date=May 17, 2020 |language=en |date=May 11, 2020}}</ref> In 2025, {{stl|Exo|Côte-de-Liesse}} will open as the Mascouche line's new southern terminus, replacing {{stl|Exo|Central Station}}. Riders wishing to reach Central Station will have to transfer to the REM at Côte-de-Liesse.

==Overview==
The line was announced as the ''Repentigny-Mascouche line'' in a [[press conference]] on March 17, 2006, and follows a major campaign by residents of eastern Montréal and the northeastern suburbs to restore commuter rail service.

The {{convert|51|km|mi|adj=on}} line used the [[Mount Royal Tunnel]] and [[Canadian National]] track from [[Montreal|Montreal's]] [[Montreal Central Station|Central Station]] to [[Repentigny, Quebec|Repentigny]]. New track was built from Repentigny to [[Terrebonne, Quebec|Terrebonne]] along [[Autoroute 640]], before turning towards the Trois-Rivières Subdivision of the [[Quebec Gatineau Railway|Chemins de fer Québec-Gatineau]] at [[Mascouche]]. Most of the route, in particular the section from Mont-Royal to Repentigny, follows a path similar to the never-built [[Line 6 (Montreal Metro)|Line 6 of the Montreal Metro]], which was planned as a steel-wheeled "regional metro" line using a somewhat similar alignment. The travel time between Mascouche and downtown Montreal (using the pre-2020 alignment, before the closure of Mount Royal Tunnel) was 61 minutes.

Originally estimated at $300 million and expected to open in 2008, the line cost $670 million and opened in 2014. It has 13 stops (10 new, 3 existing) and offers eight departures in each direction per weekday, mainly during rush hours.

==Locomotives==
On May 14, 2007, the former Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) and [[New Jersey Transit]] issued a joint call for tenders to purchase [[Electro-diesel locomotive|dual-powered locomotives]]. Until May 2020, locomotives on the Mascouche line switched to electric power at Mont-Royal (this was originally planned for Ahuntsic) to enter [[Mount Royal Tunnel]] to [[Central Station (Montreal)|Central Station]]. This international project was the first of its kind in North America.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id%3D72d1c06d-927b-4cd0-b94a-17163fa5e95e%26k%3D2320 |title=MTA joins with New Jersey on train order |access-date=June 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326002301/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=72d1c06d-927b-4cd0-b94a-17163fa5e95e&k=2320 |archive-date=March 26, 2011 }}</ref> Twenty locomotives of type [[ALP-45DP]] were delivered to the AMT from [[Bombardier Transportation]]. They now haul the RTM's 3000-series [[Bombardier MultiLevel Coach|Bombardier MultiLevel coaches]], in groups of 5 or 6 cars.

==History==
Two former commuter train lines ran along part of the route of the line.

===CN Montreal North commuter line===
CN operated a commuter service from Central Station to Montreal North from 1946 until November 8, 1968. An electric locomotive and several coaches ran one round trip a day in each direction, in rush hours only. Stations going east along the CN St Laurent Subdivision from Eastern Junction where it meets the Deux-Montagnes line were:

*Boulevard, at [[Saint Laurent Boulevard|boulevard St. Laurent]], which divides Montreal into East and West
*[[Ahuntsic railway station|Ahuntsic]], site of former [[Via Rail]] station
*Sault-au-Récollet, near rue d'Iberville
*St. Vital, at  boulevard St. Michel
*Pie-IX, at [[Pie-IX Boulevard|boulevard Pie-IX]]
*Ste. Gertrude, at boulevard Ste. Gertrude
*Montreal North, at [[Lacordaire Boulevard|boulevard Lacordaire]]

Ridership was never very high. Near the end, most remaining passengers preferred to switch to the Sauve Metro station on the [[Orange Line (Montreal Metro)|Orange Line]] of the Montreal Metro which opened October 14, 1966. Congestion on that part of the line was one of the reasons the Mascouche line was inaugurated.

===Métropolitrain===
A temporary service dubbed the "Métropolitrain" was organized by the [[Société de transport de Montréal|STCUM]] from May 15 to October 12, 1990, while [[Quebec Autoroute 40|Autoroute 40]], the boulevard Métropolitain, was being rebuilt. It ran on then-[[Canadian National]] track from near the [[Du Collège (Montreal Metro)|Du Collège metro station]] to [[Repentigny, Quebec|Repentigny]] with an intermediate station near the [[Sauvé (Montreal Metro)|Sauvé Metro station]]. Two trips ran each way in each weekday rush hour. There was no direct service to central Montreal. As there was no existing regional transit coordinator at the time, the line was never very successful.

Stations:
* Ste-Croix and St-Louis ([[Du College (Montreal Metro)|Du College Metro]])
* [[Ahuntsic railway station]] ([[Sauvé (Montreal Metro)|Sauvé Metro]])
* Saint-Leonard, at boulevard Lacordaire
* Rivière des Prairies
* Pointe-aux-Trembles (Bout-de-l'Île)
* Repentigny

===Exo service===
The Agence Métropolitaine de transport (AMT) began service on this line on December 1, 2014, after completing construction of 10 new train stations, several civil engineering structures and 13&nbsp;km of new railway track.

On June 1, 2017, the AMT was dissolved and replaced by two new governing bodies, the [[Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain]] (ARTM) and the [[Réseau de transport métropolitain]] (RTM). The RTM took over all former AMT services, including this line. In May 2018, the RTM rebranded itself as Exo, and rebranded each line with a number and updated colour. The Mascouche line became Exo 5, and its line colour was updated to a lighter pastel shade of purple.

Since May 11, 2020, the Mascouche line has temporarily terminated at [[Ahuntsic station (Exo)|Ahuntsic station]] (with some trains continuing to Central Station via an alternate route partially using the CN Taschereau intermodal yard to access Central Station) due to the ongoing conversion of the [[Deux-Montagnes line]] into the mainline of the [[Réseau express métropolitain]] (REM) [[light rail]] system. Once the downtown section of the REM is completed sometime in 2025, a new station called {{stl|REM|Côte-de-Liesse}} will open, expressly designed to ensure smooth transfer of users between the Mascouche line and the REM, and replacing [[Ahuntsic station (Exo)|Ahuntsic station]] as the line's new terminus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rem.info/en/deux-montagnes-line|title=Deux-Montagnes and Mascouche lines - Transitional network from January 2020|website=REM|language=en|access-date=September 23, 2019}}</ref>

In 2023, the service was renumbered to line 15 in order to be unique within the Montreal rail network.<ref>{{cite web |title=Your train lines are getting new numbers |url=https://exo.quebec/en/news/renumerotation |website=exo.quebec |access-date=6 August 2023 |language=en-CA |date=24 July 2023}}</ref>

==List of stations==
There are 11 current stations on the Mascouche line:<ref name="list">{{cite web |url=https://rtm.quebec/en/trip-planner/train/mascouche/0#Itineraire |title=Mascouche line (RTM) |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 21, 2019}}</ref>
{| class=wikitable
!Station
!Location
!Connections
!Zones
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Mascouche}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/mascouche-station#InformationsGare |title=Mascouche Station: Information on this station |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>
|[[Mascouche]]
|{{rint|montreal|exo|bus}} [[Exo (public transit)|Exo]]: 2, 30, 417
| rowspan="3" | C
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Terrebonne}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/terrebonne-station#InformationsGare |title=Terrebonne Station: Information on this station |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>
|[[Terrebonne, Quebec|Terrebonne]]
|{{rint|montreal|exo|bus}} [[Exo (public transit)|Exo]]: 140
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Repentigny}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/repentigny-station#InformationsGare |title=Repentigny Station: Information on this station |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>
|[[Repentigny, Quebec|Repentigny]]
|{{rint|montreal|exo|bus}} [[Exo (public transit)|Exo]]: 5, 9, 14, 100
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Pointe-aux-Trembles}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/pointe-aux-trembles-station#InformationsGare |title=Pointe-aux-Trembles Station: Information on this station |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>
|rowspan=3|[[Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles|Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles]]
| {{rint|montreal|bus}} [[Société de transport de Montréal|STM]]: 40, 86, 186, 430, 486
| rowspan="11" | A
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Rivière-des-Prairies}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/riviere-des-prairies-station#InformationsGare |title=Rivière-des-Prairies Station: Information on this station |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>
|{{rint|montreal|bus}} [[Société de transport de Montréal|STM]]: 48, 49, 81, 428, 449
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Anjou}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/anjou-station#InformationsGare |title=Anjou Station: Information on this station |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>
| {{plainlist|
* {{rint|montreal|bus}} [[Société de transport de Montréal|STM]]: 40
* {{rint|ca|VIA}}
}}
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Saint-Léonard-Montréal-Nord}}<ref name="list"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/saint-leonard-montreal-nord-station#InformationsGare |title=Saint-Léonard - Montréal-Nord Station: Information on this station |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>
|Boroughs of [[Montréal-Nord]] and [[Saint-Léonard (borough)|Saint-Léonard]]
|{{rint|montreal|bus}} [[Société de transport de Montréal|STM]]: 32, 33, 353, 432
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Saint-Michel-Montréal-Nord}}<ref name="list"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/saint-michel-montreal-nord-station#InformationsGare |title=Saint-Michel - Montréal-Nord Station: Information on this station |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>
|Boroughs of [[Montréal-Nord]] and [[Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension]]
|{{rint|montreal|bus}} [[Société de transport de Montréal|STM]]: 39, 41, 139, 355, 439, 440
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Sauvé}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/train/mascouche/0/11560?arretSelected=8#InformationsGare |title=Sauvé station: Information on this station |website=exo.quebec |access-date=May 22, 2019}}</ref>
|rowspan=2|[[Ahuntsic-Cartierville|Borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville]]
| {{plainlist|
* {{rint|montreal|bus}} [[Société de transport de Montréal|STM]]: 31, 41, 121, 140, 180, 361, 378, 440
* {{rint|montreal|metro}} {{rint|montreal|metro|2}} [[Sauvé (Montreal Metro)|Sauvé Metro station]]
* {{rint|ca|VIA}}
}}
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Ahuntsic}}
|{{rint|montreal|bus}} [[Société de transport de Montréal|STM]]: 19, 54, 179, 365
|- style = "background-color:#CCFFCC"
|{{stl|Exo|Côte-de-Liesse}}<br>Opening 2025
|[[Saint-Laurent, Quebec|Borough of Saint-Laurent]]
| {{plainlist|
* {{rint|montreal|rem}} [[Réseau express métropolitain]]
}}
|- style = "background-color:#CCCCCC"
| {{plainlist|
* {{stl|Exo|Mont-Royal}}
* Rerouted 2020
}}
|[[Mount Royal, Quebec|Town of Mount-Royal]]
|{{rint|montreal|bus}} [[Société de transport de Montréal|STM]]: 16, 119, 165, 465
|- style = "background-color:#CCCCCC"
| {{plainlist|
* {{stl|Exo|Canora}}
* Rerouted 2020
}}
|[[Mount Royal, Quebec|Town of Mount-Royal]] / borough of [[Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce]]
|{{rint|montreal|bus}} [[Société de transport de Montréal|STM]]: 92, 160, 372
|-
|{{stl|Exo|Central Station}}
|[[Ville-Marie (borough)|Borough of Ville-Marie]]
| {{plainlist|
* {{rint|ca|via}} [[Via Rail]]
* {{rint|us|amtrak}} [[Amtrak]]
* {{rint|montreal|rem}} [[Réseau express métropolitain]]
* [[File:Montreal public transit icons - Autobus.svg|16px|Terminus icon]] [[Terminus Centre-Ville|Terminus Centre-Ville]]
* {{rint|montreal|metro}} {{rint|montreal|metro|2}} [[Bonaventure station]]
* [[Bonaventure station#Connecting bus routes|Buses]]
}}
|}

== Criticism of route ==

Most observers agree that the proposed route from Montreal to Repentigny makes sense for several reasons, including the use of existing infrastructure. The route from Repentigny to Mascouche has been criticized for several reasons, including:

* The need to build (some{{who|date=September 2013}} say unnecessarily) 12&nbsp;km of track from Repentigny to Mascouche.
* In the [[Le Gardeur, Quebec|Le Gardeur]] sector of Repentigny, the new track passes very close to a large [[General Dynamics]] [[munitions]] plant, where [[explosives]] are stored and processed. Both GD and [[Natural Resources Canada]], which regulates explosives in Canada, have raised safety and security issues. Exo has built a large canopied shelter wall and [[berm]] between tracks and plant.
* The route does not serve cities east of Repentigny, particularly [[L'Assomption]] and [[Joliette]]. Those cities have bus service to Repentigny.
* Some say{{who|date=July 2012}} that the RTM could serve Mascouche more cheaply, easily, and quickly by using the CP line that leaves the [[Saint-Jérôme line]] at [[Saint-Martin station (Laval, Quebec)#History|St. Martin Junction]] in [[Laval, Quebec|Laval]], also serving the eastern part of that city.

== See also ==
* [[Bombardier ALP-45DP#Exo|ALP-45DP]]
* [[List of Montreal bus routes#Routes|List of Montreal bus routes]]
* [[Réseau express métropolitain]]

==References==
{{reflist|33em}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}
* [https://exo.quebec/en/trip-planner/train/mascouche/ Line 15 - Exo official website]
*[http://exo.quebec Official Exo website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070630192429/http://www.ville.repentigny.qc.ca/communique/traindebanlieue19fevrier07.html Communiqué from the city of Repentigny] (In [[French language|French]])
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110605171113/http://www.education.mcgill.ca/profs/cartwright/railways/nord.htm All Aboard for Montreal Nord]
*[http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/train-de-lest-commuter-line-montreal/ Mascouche Line Project Details]

{{RTM rail system}}

{{coord missing|Quebec}}

[[Category:Exo commuter rail lines]]
[[Category:Transport in Lanaudière]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 2014]]
[[Category:2014 establishments in Quebec]]