MONTREAL — Canada’s federal government will fund a feasibility study on the possibility of connecting Montreal’s future light-rail system to an existing commuter-rail station in Dorval, near the city’s airport.
Transportation Minister Marc Garneau announced the $2 million study Friday at groundbreaking ceremonies for the light rail station at Trudeau International Airport, the Montreal Gazette reports. That station will only be about 700 meters (.43 mile) from the Dorval station used by Exo commuter trains, which in turn is a short walk from a VIA Rail Canada station. But no link is currently planned.
“It’s tempting to look at the very small distance and say ‘just do it,’” Christopher Skeete, the parliamentary secretary for Quebec Premier François Legault, told the Gazette. “But the reality is that there are numerous engineering and stakeholder considerations.”
“I get the temptation, but it’s fraught with challenges that need to be examined.”
The 23-station, 41.6-mile light rail system now under construction is expected to be in service by 2023.
Watch for a lot of such announcements in the near future as there is a general election in October.