STM says 'lateral force' contributed to AZUR train damage
Too soon to say if problem linked to trains themselves, STM officials say
The STM says it's still too soon to say if there's a problem with new AZUR trains after a number of them were damaged on a section of the Metro's Orange line last Saturday.
The incident, which also damaged signalling equipment at du Collège station, forced the STM to close part of the line between late Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
Lab tests carried out at the École Polytechnique for the STM ruled out the possibility that the damage was caused by something on the tracks.
Instead, the test results show a "lateral force" is likely to blame.
François Chamberland, the STM's executive director of engineering explained that the problem is likely linked to a curve in the tracks, but it's not clear what's causing the excess force.
All of Montreal's new AZUR trains were taken out of service after the incident on Jan. 14, which also damaged the contact shoes on a number of trains. The shoes connect trains to the track and electrify it.
Chamberland said contact shoes on the old MR-73 trains have been damaged in the past with less "catastrophic" results.
The STM says the new AZUR trains will be kept out of service for the time being.
"Until we know really what happened, we'll take no chances with our new trains," said Chamberland.
The STM will issue an updated report on the incident next Friday.
With the 12 AZUR trains out of service, the STM says customers could be facing additional average wait times of about 30 seconds on the Orange line at rush hour.
Service should run normally at other times.
With files from Ainslie MacLellan