Montreal Expo Express
Encyclopedia
The Expo Express was a rapid transit
system consisting of five stations and a 5.7-kilometre route. Built for Montreal
’s Expo 67
and costing around $
18 million, the trains carried 1,000 passengers each and ran approximately every five minutes.
After Expo 67, the cars were sold to the City of Montreal and service ran for four more years on a shortened route. In 1972 the service was abandoned.
monorail
which ran within the perimeters of the Expo Site, the Expo Express used standard railway technology, with two running rails and a third electrified rail
identical to those of the Toronto subway
. It ran from April 1967 to October 1972 (the last year Terre-des-Hommes Notre-Dame island was opened to the public) and was then mothballed and stored on Ile Notre Dame with a few trainsets in a shed adjacent to the LaRonde amusement park until the summer of 1979, when they were moved out to the Port of Montréal by building a temporary track where the line to Cité du Havre used to be.
After several abortive schemes to re-use the cars, they were moved from the Port of Montreal to a storage facility in Les Cèdres (Québec) in the late 1980s, and were finally cut up for scrap in the mid 1990s.
The trains used were a modified version of the Hawker Siddeley H-series
used by the Toronto Transit Commission
with one fewer door on each side, and streamlined
ends.
The Expo Express was the first fully automated rapid transit system in North America, utilizing an Automatic Train Operation
(ATO) system based on audio frequency track circuits furnished by the Union Switch & Signal
division of Westinghouse Air Brake Company
(WABCO). This fact, however, was not widely publicized during the fair, as it was felt the public would not readily board a train controlled entirely by a computer. Operators from Montreal's transit union were placed in cabs at the front and given mundane tasks such as opening and closing the doors of the train to reduce boredom. This actually resulted in a minor incident during the fair, at La Ronde station. The conductor had pressed the button to close the doors and proceed, but his train had already sensed an oncoming express from Ile Notre Dame and automatically delayed the go command to let it roll in. In the meantime, the driver realized he had forgotten his lunch. However, he could not exit though the passenger doors because his train was in a "wait" state and would not allow the doors to open. Instead, he crawled through the small cab window. By the time he had fetched his lunch, however, the oncoming train had pulled in and his train had taken off on its own. It crossed the bridge over the Le Moyne Channel, proceeded along the seaway, and came to a smooth stop at Ile Notre Dame station where an Expo official was waiting. This person crawled back through the cab window and pressed the button to open the doors and let the passengers disembark.
Although the Expo Express used traditional steel-wheeled trains, Montréal's contemporary (and permanent) Métro
system did not. Rubber-tired trains
based on technology developed by the Paris Métro
, were selected instead: the Canadian Vickers/Bombardier Transportation
MR-63
and MR-73 trains.
The line was double-track throughout, except for a single-track section at Place d’Accueil, where people exited on one side of the train and boarded on the other.
When the terminus was brought back to Île Sainte-Hélène in 1968, it was single-tracked as well.
The line was dismantled north of Île-Notre-Dame in 1974 for the construction of the Olympic basin; rolling stock was moved between Île-Notre-Dame and Île-Sainte-Hélène and stored there until 1979.
Maintenance facilities were located northwest of La Ronde station.
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
system consisting of five stations and a 5.7-kilometre route. Built for Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
’s Expo 67
Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
and costing around $
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
18 million, the trains carried 1,000 passengers each and ran approximately every five minutes.
After Expo 67, the cars were sold to the City of Montreal and service ran for four more years on a shortened route. In 1972 the service was abandoned.
Vehicles
Not to be confused with the MinirailMinirail
The Minirail was an automated monorail system at Expo 67 in Montreal. The six-mile-long people mover system was composed of two separate loops. A shorter track, which remains in service, takes riders through the LaRonde amusement park...
monorail
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
which ran within the perimeters of the Expo Site, the Expo Express used standard railway technology, with two running rails and a third electrified rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
identical to those of the Toronto subway
Toronto subway and RT
The Toronto subway and RT is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of both underground and elevated railway lines, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . It was Canada's first completed subway system, with the first line being built under Yonge Street, which opened in...
. It ran from April 1967 to October 1972 (the last year Terre-des-Hommes Notre-Dame island was opened to the public) and was then mothballed and stored on Ile Notre Dame with a few trainsets in a shed adjacent to the LaRonde amusement park until the summer of 1979, when they were moved out to the Port of Montréal by building a temporary track where the line to Cité du Havre used to be.
After several abortive schemes to re-use the cars, they were moved from the Port of Montreal to a storage facility in Les Cèdres (Québec) in the late 1980s, and were finally cut up for scrap in the mid 1990s.
The trains used were a modified version of the Hawker Siddeley H-series
H-series (Toronto Subway car)
The H-series rapid transit cars are a subway car model built from 1965 to 1990 for the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1965 to 1975, the cars were built by Hawker Siddeley Canada and later by its new owner the Urban Transportation Development Corporation...
used by the Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
with one fewer door on each side, and streamlined
Streamliner
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
ends.
The Expo Express was the first fully automated rapid transit system in North America, utilizing an Automatic Train Operation
Automatic train operation
Automatic train operation ensures partial or complete automatic train piloting and driverless functions.Most systems elect to maintain a driver to mitigate risks associated with failures or emergencies....
(ATO) system based on audio frequency track circuits furnished by the Union Switch & Signal
Union Switch & Signal
Union Switch and Signal was a supplier of railway signaling equipment, systems and services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As of January 1, 2009, US&S is known as Ansaldo STS USA.-History:...
division of Westinghouse Air Brake Company
Westinghouse Air Brake Company
The railway air brake was invented by George Westinghouse of New York state in 1869. Soon after, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he established the Westinghouse Air Brake Company on September 28, 1869...
(WABCO). This fact, however, was not widely publicized during the fair, as it was felt the public would not readily board a train controlled entirely by a computer. Operators from Montreal's transit union were placed in cabs at the front and given mundane tasks such as opening and closing the doors of the train to reduce boredom. This actually resulted in a minor incident during the fair, at La Ronde station. The conductor had pressed the button to close the doors and proceed, but his train had already sensed an oncoming express from Ile Notre Dame and automatically delayed the go command to let it roll in. In the meantime, the driver realized he had forgotten his lunch. However, he could not exit though the passenger doors because his train was in a "wait" state and would not allow the doors to open. Instead, he crawled through the small cab window. By the time he had fetched his lunch, however, the oncoming train had pulled in and his train had taken off on its own. It crossed the bridge over the Le Moyne Channel, proceeded along the seaway, and came to a smooth stop at Ile Notre Dame station where an Expo official was waiting. This person crawled back through the cab window and pressed the button to open the doors and let the passengers disembark.
- Type: H1H-series (Toronto Subway car)The H-series rapid transit cars are a subway car model built from 1965 to 1990 for the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1965 to 1975, the cars were built by Hawker Siddeley Canada and later by its new owner the Urban Transportation Development Corporation...
variant - Fleet: 48 cars
- Configuration: 8 sets of 6 cars
- Operator: City of Montréal
- Builder: Hawker Siddeley Canada Limited, Fort William, OntarioFort William, OntarioFort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...
Although the Expo Express used traditional steel-wheeled trains, Montréal's contemporary (and permanent) Métro
Montreal Metro
The Montreal Metro is a rubber-tired metro system, and the main form of public transportation underground in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
system did not. Rubber-tired trains
Rubber-tyred metro
A rubber-tyred metro is a form of rapid transit system that uses a mix of road and rail technology. The vehicles have wheels with rubber tyres which run on rolling pads inside guide bars for traction, as well as traditional railway steel wheels with deep flanges on steel tracks for guidance through...
based on technology developed by the Paris Métro
Paris Métro
The Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
, were selected instead: the Canadian Vickers/Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
MR-63
MR-63
The MR-63 is the first and oldest EMU rapid transit train type operated on the Montreal Metro in the city of Montréal, Québec.Based on the Paris Métro's MP 59 rolling stock, the MR-63 were constructed by Canadian Vickers from 1965–1967 and was introduced on October 14, 1966 on the opening of the...
and MR-73 trains.
The line
The line started at the Place d’Accueil in Cité du Havre- Gare Cité du Havre / Place d’Accueil, closed in 1968.
- Gare Habitat 67 (outbound only), closed in 1968.
- Gare Île Sainte-Hélène
- Gare Île Notre Dame
- Gare L’homme et l’agriculture (inbound only), added in 1968.
- Gare La Ronde
The line was double-track throughout, except for a single-track section at Place d’Accueil, where people exited on one side of the train and boarded on the other.
When the terminus was brought back to Île Sainte-Hélène in 1968, it was single-tracked as well.
The line was dismantled north of Île-Notre-Dame in 1974 for the construction of the Olympic basin; rolling stock was moved between Île-Notre-Dame and Île-Sainte-Hélène and stored there until 1979.
Maintenance facilities were located northwest of La Ronde station.