Montréal Metro has begun daytime testing of the first two of its new rubber-tired AZUR trains.
Société de transport de Montréal (STM) will be conducting trial runs on the Orange and Blue lines over the next few months as part of the testing and commissioning programme.
The two trains being used include the prototype vehicle, which was delivered in April 2014, and a brand new, fully equipped nine-car unit.
Daytime testing will be done alongside the current night testing programme, which has been going on for over a year. The first new trains are expected to enter passenger service before the end of the year.
Part of the programme has included checking clearances in the tunnels alongside the existing MR-63 and MR-73 trains.
The AZUR fleet is being built by a Bombardier-Alstom consortium – the same partnership that has supplied trains for the Paris Métro. The consortium has said it is confident it will meet the 2018 deadline for delivering all 468 metro cars.
Robert Poëti, Québec Minister of Transport, said: “The start of daytime testing is a significant step in the progression of a project that aims to not only replace métro cars that have been in service since 1966, but to also handle the increase in ridership.
“The Government of Québec is proud to contribute up to 75 per cent to the purchase of the new metro cars, as it will improve the efficiency of public transportation, a priority in the metropolitan area.”
