Exo (public transit)

Exo's parent agency, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), is charged with transportation planning for the Greater Montreal area.

Exo operates commuter train service as well as the bus service outside of the three main population centres of Greater Montreal. In these areas service is provided by the Société de Transport de Montréal on the Island of Montreal, the Société de Transport de Laval in Laval, and the Réseau de transport de Longueuil for the urban agglomeration of Longueuil.

The interior of an Exo commuter train

Exo's commuter trains are its highest-profile division. It uses diesel-electric push-pull trains. The Mont-Saint-Hilaire line runs on Canadian National trackage and operates out of Central Station, while the Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme, and Candiac lines run on Canadian Pacific Kansas City trackage and operate out of Lucien L'Allier terminus, beside the historic Windsor Station. The Saint-Jérôme line also runs on Canadian Pacific (CP) trackage and on Exo's own trackage between Sainte-Thérèse and Saint-Jérôme.

Operation of all commuter rail was provided by contract to CN and CP (on their respective rail networks) until June 30, 2017. Operations were taken over by Bombardier Transportation beginning July 1, 2017, on an 8-year contract.[5]

The train lines are integrated with the bus and Metro network maintained by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM).

Commuter train lines

Train lines	Line length	Start	Terminus
Vaudreuil–Hudson	51.2 km (31.8 mi)	1887	Hudson	Lucien-L'Allier
Saint-Jérôme	62.8 km (39.0 mi)	1882	Saint-Jérôme	Lucien-L'Allier
Mont-Saint-Hilaire	34.9 km (21.7 mi)	1859	Mont-Saint-Hilaire	Gare Centrale
Candiac	25.6 km (15.9 mi)	1887	Candiac	Lucien-L'Allier
Mascouche	52 km (32 mi)	2014	Mascouche	Gare Centrale

As of July 1, 2022, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) which is responsible for the distribution of fares in the Greater Montreal area has designated 4 zones on its territory A, B, C and D. The Island of Montreal is under zone A. Laval and Longueuil are part of zone B. The northern and southern suburbs of Montreal (off-island) are part of zone C. Zone D is territory not under the authority of the ARTM but it is still responsible for the distribution of fares there as well. [6]

If a trip starts and ends on the island of Montreal, an all modes zone A fare is required. This includes all modes of public transit (i.e. bus, Metro, REM or Exo). If a trip leaves zone A (Montreal) then a fare for the corresponding zone is required. For example, a trip between Montreal and Laval will require an all modes AB fare. Fares are valid for 120 minutes after the first validation. There are no fare gates; instead, a proof-of-payment system is used, where fare inspectors randomly check tickets

All fares are available in a cheaper "reduced" category for children 6 to 17 years old, and seniors that are 65 or older. Additionally, monthly passes are available in a "student" category (which is cheaper than the regular fare but more than the reduced fare) for students 18 to 25 years old. To benefit from the reduced or student fares, the passenger must have a reduced-fare OPUS card with their name and photo on it. Travel on the commuter trains is free for anyone 5 and under as well as children 6 to 11 years old travelling with an adult.

Following the introduction of the OPUS, smart card system tickets and passes are now sold by automated vending machines at each station. The machines accept cash, credit and debit cards. Purchases of more than $80 must be paid by cards. Tickets and passes are also sold at a few stores near the suburban stations. Consult the full list on the RTM's website.[7][8] Passes are valid for a calendar month, and are normally on sale from the 20th of the previous month to the 5th of their month of validity. Passengers can also subscribe to OPUS+ which automatically debits the passenger's bank account or credit card and adds the pass to the passenger's OPUS card.

Exo has a variety of rolling stock, some of it acquired from GO Transit, the rest built specifically for it. There are a total of 256 cars and locomotives in the fleet.

Locomotives

EMD F59PH locomotive from Delson-Candiac at Vendôme station

ALP-45DP locomotive from Vaudreuil-Hudson at Vendôme station

F59PHI locomotive at Lucien-L'Allier station

Exo locomotives

Maker	Model	Number in service	Numbered	Year built	Comments
Electro-Motive Diesel	F59PHI	11	1320–1330	2000	Used on the Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme, and Candiac lines.
	F59PH	10	1340–1349	1990	Acquired from GO Transit. Used on the Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint Jérôme, Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Mascouche lines.
Bombardier	ALP-45DP	20	1350–1369	2011	Used on the Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Vaudreuil-Hudson, Mascouche and Saint-Jérôme lines.[9]

On January 28, 2022, Exo announced that it had ordered 10 Siemens Charger locomotives to replace the older F59PH locomotives in their fleet.[10]

Retired locomotives

Maker	Model	Number in class	Numbered	Year built	Comments
Electro-Motive Diesel	F40PH	16	223, 243, 270-271, 274, 293, 297, 301-302, 310, 319, 330, 372, 400, 411, 418	1977-1985	All sold off to various leasing firms, tourist railroads, or other commuter railroads. Ex-Amtrak.

A schedule display board at Mont-Royal station

Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) had long operated commuter trains in the Montreal area, but by the 1980s, their services had dwindled to one route each. The Société de transport de la communauté urbaine de Montréal (STCUM), or Montreal Urban Community Transportation Corporation (MUCTC), which already managed Metro and bus services across the Island of Montreal, assumed management of CN's Deux-Montagnes commuter service and CP's Rigaud service in 1982 as the two railways began scaling back their services.

In 1997, management and financing of both lines was transferred to the newly created Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), which had been established to distribute funding and coordinate transportation planning among the numerous transit operators throughout the Greater Montreal Region. Later that year, the AMT inaugurated service between Blainville and Jean-Talon (now Parc) train station in Montreal's Park Extension district, connecting to the Metro at Parc . Originally, the service was designed to provide a temporary alternative for motorists from Laval and the North Shore of Montreal, while the Highway 117 Dufresne Bridge was being repaired. The service proved to be so popular that the AMT continued to fund it, and even extended a number of trains to the Lucien-L'Allier station downtown in 1999, and continues to provide off-peak daytime weekday service on this line. The service was extended further north to Saint-Jérôme in 2007.

In 2000, the AMT inaugurated its service to McMasterville (which runs along a CN line), and later extended it to Mont-Saint-Hilaire in 2002.

Montréal-Ouest station in Montreal West

In 2001, the AMT initiated a pilot project, launching service on a fifth line (using CP tracks) to Delson. This was later extended to Candiac in 2005. More information about the history of each line can be found in their respective articles.

In 2014, the AMT acquired the entire Deux-Montagnes line from CN, including the right of way, infrastructure, trackage, other railway equipment, grounds, curb lanes, rights in the Mount Royal tunnel and air rights, in a $97 million transaction.[15]

On June 1, 2017, the AMT was disbanded to become the Réseau de transport métropolitain, then Exo, the new agency in charge of operating commuter rail and metropolitan bus services,[16] while the Autorité régionale de transport became in charge of managing, integrating and planning public transportation in Greater Montreal.

On December 31, 2020, the Deux-Montagnes line was closed permanently, with the route from Montreal Central Station to Deux-Montagnes being converted into a section for the automated light metro service known as the Réseau express métropolitain.

An Exo commuter bus in Downtown Montreal.

An Exo commuter coach at Mansfield Terminal in Downtown Montreal, headed for Sainte-Martine.

Exo runs multiple bus lines through its subsidiaries serving Montréal suburbs. One of them, the Express Chevrier 90, also called Express Terminus Centre-Ville 90 — operated by the RTL in Longueuil (using Van Hool AG300 buses) and links the Brossard-Chevrier Park and Ride in Brossard to the Downtown Terminus.

Exo operates all commuter bus services for the North Shore and South Shore suburbs, excepting the cities of Longueuil and Laval, which have their own transit agencies.

In 2018, Exo carried 174,710 passengers on a typical weekday — 77,210 on the trains and 97,500 by commuter bus, including adapted transport.[2]

• Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain
• Public transport in Canada

• Official website