The new exo trains unveiled in Saint-Jérôme

After numerous delays, the new exo trains are finally on the rails. Several problems undermined the commissioning of these Chinese-made trains, which were finally unveiled Friday at Saint-Jérôme station.

The official commissioning will take place next Tuesday, but will be short-lived. The wagons will only run for four days, before being removed from the rails due to work on the railway.

Users will be able to take advantage of it for good from the week of July 15.

The new cars will gradually be put into service until 2025, when all of the 44 cars ordered should be operational. Twenty-nine cars have already been delivered to exo.

We are convinced that the cars will delight our customers and we can’t wait to see users get in them.declared the general director of exo, Stéphane Yelle.

The Chinese company CRRC was mainly responsible for manufacturing these wagons, called 2050″,”text”:”cars2050″}}”>cars 2050. Quebec provided $118 million for this project, 75% financed by the provincial government.

We have a good product for a good price.

Delays

However, numerous delays have plagued the commissioning of the new trains, initially planned more than four years ago.

The exo general manager cited three main reasons to explain these delays.

% Canadian Content”,”text”:”The first thing is that we ourselves requested changes. The Quebec government asked us to have a minimum of 25% Canadian content”}}”>The first thing is that we ourselves have asked for changes. The Quebec government asked us to have a minimum of 25% Canadian contentdeclared Mr. Yelle. %. We therefore requested changes to increase the level of Canadian content.”,”text”:”In the original contract, there was only 15%. We therefore requested changes to increase the level of Canadian content.”}}”>In the original contract, there was only 15%. We therefore requested changes to increase the level of Canadian content.

Exo also asked to improve the accessibility of the cars after their initial design.

The pandemic and subsequent problems in the global supply chain account for another part of the delays, Mr. Yelle added.

He finally raised that a problem with communication inside trainsresponsibility of a Canadian supplier, extended the car testing period.

Exo satisfied with its supplier

The general manager of exo nevertheless said he was satisfied with his supplier.

He explained that he had not experienced the same problems as certain other North American organizations that have done business with CRRC.

The relationship we had was very collaborative, they responded promptly to our requests.

The contract between exo and the world’s largest train manufacturer provides for on-site support and consignment parts, also on site, according to exo’s general manager.

He wanted to be reassuring and said he had no doubts about the reliability of the cars, after the tests of recent months.

More accessible cars

Although the number of wagons in circulation will not be increased, the speakers still estimated that the comfort and accessibility of the new cars will attract new users.

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Impressed by the new cars, he is especially pleased with the fact that they are more accessible for people with reduced mobility. It had been an issue in Saint-Jérômehe explained. We are the terminus and people could not access the train unless they lifted their wheelchair.

The mayor adds that the new wagons should make it easier for cyclists to travel to his municipality, where the popular P’tit Train du Nord trail starts.

The exo network undermined

Like many public transport organizations, exo is experiencing financial problems linked to the drop in ridership on its network. Like the metro and buses, commuter trains have seen a significant drop in ridership since the pandemic.

The advent of REM had also undermined the use of two train lines, the Deux-Montagnes line and the Mascouche line.

Doomed to be replaced by the REMthe Deux-Montagnes train ceased operations in 2020.

Also threatened by the arrival of REMthe Mascouche line was the most in deficit in the exo network, reported Radio-Canada on February 12.

Users who used to end their journey at Lucien-L’Allier station have instead had to disembark at Vendôme station since April. Lucien-L’Allier station is closed due to major renovations.

With information François Joly

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