A bill that would help make the Train de L’Ouest a reality is before the National Assembly, bringing the project one step closer to fruition.
The National Assembly is currently holding hearings on Bill 38, which would allow the government to work with the Caisse de Depot to finance major infrastructure projects. The move would possibly bring better service to Montreal’s West Island and beyond, because there would be money available to finance the Train de L'Ouest.
A group of West Island mayors travelled by bus to Quebec City Wednesday to make their case on the importance of the project.
The coalition of West Island mayors said a shuttle from downtown to the airport in Dorval isn't good enough, and they want improved commuter train service all the way to Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue.
The group said the poor service to the West Island is discouraging people from using public transit.
Former MNA Clifford Lincoln is part of the Train de L'Ouest coalition and he said he's been lobbying for better West Island train service for 35 years, starting when he was an MNA working at the National Assembly in the 1980s.
“We have 26 trains a day, no trains after 9:15 at night, no trains between 4:30 and 6:00 o'clock, very few trains during the day. Twenty-six per cent of the people stand up in the morning at rush hour in the trains... What do you do? You use your car,” said Lincoln.
Finance Minister Carlos Leitao seemed sympathetic to the cause.
The West Island MNA representing the Robert-Baldwin riding, Leitao admitted during the hearings Wednesday that he was so frustrated by the lack of reliable train service that he started using his car to get downtown.
