Candiac line train service cancelled as protesters block tracks
CBC News | Posted: November 16, 2016 11:14 AM | Last Updated: November 16, 2016
Bus service offered for South Shore commuters, Montrealers asked to use STM
Train service on the AMT's Candiac line was cancelled Wednesday due to a protest on the tracks.
A small group of Mohawks from Kahnawake camped out beside the tracks near the Saint-Laurent train bridge, which connects Montreal to the South Shore, to show their opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline project.
People who usually take the train from the Delson, Candiac, Saint-Constant and Sainte-Catherine stations were instead bussed from their train stations to the Mansfield bus terminal downtown, where they connected with the STM network to reach their destinations.
Difficult start for commuters
Commuter Mélanie Arcand takes the train to get to work from the Sainte-Catherine station every day.
"It's really annoying. I'm sure I'll be late for work. I'm not satisfied at all. I think the AMT should compensate us, even if it's not their fault," she said.
Those who take the train from the LaSalle station had to rely on the STM to get where they're going.
And commuters who usually board at the Montreal West or Vendôme stations had to get on Saint-Jérôme or Vaudreuil-Hudson line trains.
Evening rush hour affected
There was also no afternoon rush hour service heading toward the South Shore on that line.
The protesters said they weren't letting trains through until 6 p.m.
Pipeline opponents say the project, which would bring North Dakota oil to a shipping point in Illinois, poses a threat to sacred Indigenous land and to the Missouri River.
The river is the main water supply for the nearby Standing Rock Sioux reservation.
Yesterday, Mohawks from Kahnawake held a roadside protest to demand the project be nixed.