AZUR Metro cars back on track as STM isolates problem behind shutdown

Montreal's brand new Metro cars will be brought back into service starting today. 

The city's public transit agency, the STM, withdrew the AZUR cars after a key component — the contact shoes — were damaged due to a mechanical problem on the Orange line. 

• What we know about the problems with the AZUR Metro cars

The problem was first noticed on Jan. 14, when an AZUR car was damaged as it traveled through the Du Collège station, leading to an hours-long shutdown of parts of the Orange line.  

Upon subsequent inspection, the transit agency noticed all 12 of its new AZUR cars were damaged, as well as some of the older MR-73 cars.

• STM pulls all AZUR Metro trains following weekend shutdown

​STM officials were initially uncertain what caused the damage. But in findings released Friday the agency said the contact shoes on the cars were damaged by lateral movement created by wear and tear on certain track components.

The agency said it will be increasing the frequency of inspections. The AZUR trains were first put into service last February. A total of 52 AZUR trains are supposed to be brought into service by 2018.