An Exo rail yard is shown in Montreal, January 3, 2024. Greater Montreal riders will return to their regular commute this morning as the Exo transit system says service will resume after the work stoppage by Canada's two major railways came to an end. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Graham Hughes
MONTREAL – Greater Montreal riders will return to their regular commute this morning as the Exo transit system says service will resume after the work stoppage by Canada’s two major railways came to an end.
Exo spokeswoman Catherine Maurice said Sunday that service on its Candiac, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines will return to their regular schedule after coming to an abrupt halt Thursday morning that took many commuters by surprise.
Maurice said bus shuttle service will also continue today in order to handle “any issues that may arise” for the routes’ 21,000 daily riders.
She said Exo expects congestion on the tracks amid the operations ramp-up by Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.
Select commuter lines in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver came to a standstill last week after the rail companies locked out 9,300 employees, including Canadian Pacific dispatchers who direct traffic on tracks owned by that company but used by commuter trains.
On Saturday, the federal labour board ordered railways to resume operations and employees to go back on the job starting at 12:01 a.m. this morning ahead of binding arbitration, which will aim to resolve a labour impasse that led to the shutdown.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2024.
