STM - Society in motion
Next September 21 and 22, the Go Green Event – Ride and Save along McGill College Avenue is planning quite a surprise for you …
Come discover the Montréal metro’s future car by walking through a full-size model, with its modern, streamlined look, better lighting and greater comfort.
In the meantime, for anyone unable to attend this week’s event, here is a replay of the car’s unveiling last June during the Strategic Forum on Transportation.
In order to provide customers with a quick transportation alternative to construction work around the Turcot Interchange, the STM has introduced into service four express bus lines, the 405, 425, 475 and 485.
We met with transit users at Lionel-Groulx station to find out what they think about the rapid bus service.
The following is a sampling of their comments.
Why are you taking the new 405, 425, 475 and 485 express buses ?
-Because I was at the bus stop and it was the first bus to show up
-Because it helps me get home faster
-Because it’s easier for me , and this is as the 211 and 425 so what I do, you know, I have the choice … I have to get to work!
-I guess be back you know ,10 minutes faster than I would have before actually
-The advantage is that service is very fast
-I’m not so stressed out when I have an appointment and have to get somewhere fast
-It’s more relax really I find, the other one, the 211 is crowded
-I’m also taking this bus, the 405, for the first time and, so far, I can see the bus is almost empty, so that’s a good thing for me, I’m more comfortable.
How did you find out about these new bus lines?
-Yesterday, I saw an ad in the métro on my way to work, but I didn’t pay attention to it. And then someone mentioned it to me during the day, and I realized that’s what it was about.
-On the city’s website, in Notre-Dame de l’Ile Perrot, there is information about it, and news, because there’s still so much traffic.
-I found out about it on stm.info
-You just have to read the newspaper everyone knows in the Island and actually find out about it, so It sounds good!
Bus information…. Soon available in 2.0.
It’s INIT Innovations en transport (Canada Est Inc.) who will provide the technology solution (GPS, software, on-board computers, consoles, audio system), as well as display screens, information terminals and a radio-communications system, in addition to outfitting buses with on-board equipment.
The iBUS project will serve to inform passengers on an on-going basis at main bus stops and in major metro stations using electronic display screens. Transit users will always know at what time to expect the next bus. Thanks to the system, bus stops will also be called out and displayed inside the bus, a step forward in terms of improved universal access, as the information will be readily available to both the visually- and hearing-impaired. Lastly, real-time information regarding the status of service will also be openly accessible through the internet or mobile applications for smart phones.
Imagine, by the end of 2014, the STM will gradually begin to install the information system aboard its 1900 buses!
They are one of a kind and they are made right here in the STM shops. They play a crucial role. And they’re made of wood soaked in peanut oil.
Most métro cars around the world are equipped with either steel or graphite brake shoes. In Montréal, wooden brake shoes are used instead, as they generate less noise than steel shoes and less pollution than graphite ones.
For its new métro cars, the STM required a high level of performance of both parts and systems for reasons of safety and efficiency, and to keep maintenance costs in line. The goal is to avoid wearing out the métro cars’ steel wheels and to keep braking noise to a minimum, all at once. And only wooden brake shoes meet both requirements !
Follow us as we visit the workshop where wooden brake shoes are made.
The Montréal métro’s wooden brake shoes
Wooden brake shoes have been used by métro cars to brake ever since the métro first opened. And we’ll be using the same wooden brake shoes on our new MPM-10 cars, the exact same type. We wanted braking to be quiet, without any screeching, and without wearing out the steel wheels prematurely. Wooden brake shoes were the only solution. They make it possible to preserve our steel wheels for the full service life of a métro car, which is about forty years. So, we figure we are saving tens of thousands of dollars during that 40-year period.
The wooden brake shoe shop is here. Two people work here year-round and, three times a year, they produce some 17,000, almost 18,000 shoe brakes. The rough wood is assembled here, and after they are cut with a band-saw to shape them to fit the wheels. Once the pieces are cut, they are placed in a basket and lowered into a vat of hot peanut oil for the wood to soak up, producing less friction with the steel later on. After removing the brake shoes from the soaking vat, they are left to drip-dry for about thirty days. The next step is yet another bath, but this time in salt water to prevent mould from building up on the brake shoes.
The brake supplier for the MPM-10 métro cars has tested the wooden brake shoes in their manufacturing plant. And they also determined that, no, wooden brake shoes don’t screech. And, yes, it’s also true they don’t wear out steel wheels. What’s more, they even said it smelled nice, like an outdoor barbecue.
