Railfanning Greater Montreal and area without a car

I wouldn't mind catching freight, especially at Dorval. The Friday and Monday that I'm in Montreal, I plan to focus a little more on the AMTs, especially the diesel lines.

On weekends, are there any bus that enable quick rides from Dorval Station to a Metro Stop in Montreal? Thanks.

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:On weekends, are there any bus that enable quick rides from Dorval Station to a Metro Stop in Montreal? Thanks.

Route 211. It has frequent service and brings you directly to Lionel-Groulx métro station. It should be fast, because that line doesn't stop between Terminus Dorval and Lionel-Groulx.

I'll look into the 211 bus.

why not taking the AMT train? from Lucien-L'Allier station to Dorval 20 minutes of ride,no traffic,a good view over St-Luc yard and a quick view on CN side..
tickets are 4,75$..
saturday departures from Montreal
09:30 13:30 17:30 22:30
and for come back
11:39 16:39 19:39
and sunday departures
13:30 17:30 20:00
and for come back
16:09 19:24

I'll take AMT one way. I plan to photograph at Dorval later in the day on Sunday Aug 20th, so that way, I can get the VIA rail corridor trains, especially the nonstop that runs to Toronto.

there are no more non-stop VIA at Dorval since fiew years...
if you take the AMT to Dorval in afternoon,get on the first accessible car at the front,most of the time I'm boarding on that car,to be able to see in fron,by the window..

Are there plans on increasing the service to St. Jerome, as well as reducing the travel time on that line? Thanks.

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Are there plans on increasing the service to St. Jerome, as well as reducing the travel time on that line? Thanks.

Yes. Work is currently being done to double the tracks (between Saint-Martin Jct and Sainte-Rose station) and add sidings. At least 6 trains (3 in each direction) should be added somewhere in 2012. Old switches will be also replaced, so travel time should be slightly reduced.

AMT also wants to connect the line to the Mont-Royal tunnel, instead of using the CP tracks around the moutain. This would reduce travel time by at least 15 minutes, but no funds have been awarded to this project yet.

I'll probably put the St. Jerome on hold for a bit, at least the portion, between Parc and St. Jerome. I'll ride the section from Lucien-L'Allier station to Parc. Yes, that line going around roundabout takes a while. It seems like a lot of people get off at Parc and switch to the Metro.
BTW, how is Parc station for photography? In addition, I see that this line passes the Deux Montagnes near Canora Sta. How is the photo situation there? thanks.

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:I'll probably put the St. Jerome on hold for a bit, at least the portion, between Parc and St. Jerome. I'll ride the section from Lucien-L'Allier station to Parc. Yes, that line going around roundabout takes a while. It seems like a lot of people get off at Parc and switch to the Metro.
BTW, how is Parc station for photography? In addition, I see that this line passes the Deux Montagnes near Canora Sta. How is the photo situation there? thanks.

Parc station would be a nice spot for photography, but you need a ticket if you are standing on the platform. I personnaly prefer De la Concorde train station, which is also accessible by metro.

However, the trains on the Saint-Jérôme line do not stop near Canora. That station is nice because it is at the north end of the Mont-Royal tunnel and you can take interesting pictures of trains entering/leaving the tunnel. On the CP line nearby (where Saint-Jérôme trains pass), there is a crossing where I think you could take good photos (Jean-Talon/Wilderton intersection).