Transforming Quebec's passenger transportation offer

Recent recruit Patrick Charpentier gives his views on transforming Quebec's passenger transportation offer

Patrick Charpentier - Montreal transit aficionado and former Director of Technical Studies at Montreal’s Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT) - is intent on transforming the region’s passenger transportation offer. Can Steer Davies Gleave, a consultancy establishing itself in Quebec, provide the platform for him to do it?

In a nutshell, Patrick thinks, yes. ‘Montreal is definitely ready for some new blood. With our congestion issues, green commitments, and the current case for electrification, it’s a pivotal time for transit in the city. Transportation consultancies, particularly those with a solid portfolio of international experience to benchmark against, are in a strong position. Montreal is definitely open to learning from global best practice.’

Patrick joined SDG from AMT, just as a series of public hearings with the potential to change the transit landscape began. Recent revelations have suggested that some political parties and engineering consultancies have been engaged in alleged electoral fraud, so his move to SDG, which is successfully implementing exciting projects across Canada, has proved to be quite timely. Patrick notes that a large part of the appeal of the move was the chance to focus on those aspects of transportation he is passionate about while utilizing SDG’s global experience. ‘When you work within a political organization your priorities can change rapidly, depending on what’s topical on the day. A consultancy environment will differ in that I’ll be able to see projects through from strategy to actual delivery.’

Rail dilemmas

Throughout his career, Patrick’s primary concern has been Montreal’s rail network. With lengthy stints at CN (Canadian National Railway Company) and AMT, he has worked with both the freight and passenger transportation sectors. Experiencing both sectors is advantageous for one determined to see Montreal’s passenger rail offer become first rate. ‘If you don’t understand freight operations, passenger rail operatives won’t take you seriously. You simply won’t understand the challenges they’re facing and without that insight, how can you suggest improvements to their service?’

One of the challenges he refers to is the poor frequency of commuter services available caused by an unwillingness to invest in and develop new lines and by freight’s monopoly of not only Montreal’s existing tracks but also Canada’s as a whole. ‘As a country, we’ve really embraced freight to ship goods – in fact around 95% of our track usage is from freight with some trains as long as two miles in length. Passenger rail has to work around freight’s requirements, not the other way around. ’There’s no quick fix to this problem, though Patrick sees the possibility of some positive improvements in the form of electrified lines.

Electrification – the future?

Patrick is a staunch supporter of electrification. Quebec has an abundance of hydroelectric power at its disposal. ‘Yet diesel powered everything is the norm, which is unnecessary in light of what we’ve got on our doorstep’ says Patrick. And considering Quebec’s commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, now is a good time to extol the benefits of electrifying Montreal train lines…or indeed powering all transit modes by electricity.

As director of AMT’s contentious electrificatio feasibility study, Patrick collaborated with the region’s railways and is confident that a number of lines could be successfully powered by electricity. ‘Even buses could be powered by electricity with fast and slow charge points. There’s no real reason to continue using diesel in Montreal.’

Montreal’s transit landscape needs to change. If the city is ever to successfully reduce the levels of congestion that recently saw it rank third in a list of top ten North American cities suffering with congestion, the likes of Patrick Charpentier are key to their success.

Patrick Charpentier leads SDG’s rail planning work in Canada. To find out more contact: patrick.charpentier@sdgworld.net