Travelling to and from Montreal’s airport will soon be easier under a newly announced infrastructure initiative aimed at streamlining public transit connections in Montreal’s West Island.
The Dorval Multimodal Hub will bring together VIA Rail and Exo passenger rail services, as well as the shuttle service to the airport, at the site of the current Exo station.
The planned station is about a three-minute shuttle ride from Montreal’s Trudeau airport.
The project is intended to simplify transfers between the various transportation networks and reduce the amount of time passengers spend travelling between the existing facilities, VIA Rail said in a news release Wednesday.
“You will come to one place and from there you will decide what type of transit you are getting. STM, VIA or Exo,” said Alexandre Eyquem, Exo’s director of infrastructure.
The project will also be located near the Dorval terminus operated by the Société de transport de Montréal, creating a connection point between regional and intercity rail, public transit and air travel.
VIA Rail said the co-development phase of the project has now begun, planning how passengers will move through the hub and identify technical challenges before construction begins next year.
No completion date or estimated cost has been announced. Dorval Mayor Marc Doret said the construction work won’t be an issue for the neighbourhood.
“It’s going to be contained to a single area, so it should have no effect on traffic. The noise as well will be at a minimum. We’re not really in a residential area,” Doret said.
Doret said the completed hub should also help reduce car traffic around the airport by making public transit a more convenient option for travellers.
The project is being developed in collaboration with VIA Rail, Exo, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain and Aéroports de Montréal.
About 250,000 travellers use VIA Rail’s Dorval station each year, according to the company.