The decision of the STM to remove the AZUR cars was taken following the 10-hour blackout on part of the Orange metro line Saturday between Lionel-Groulx and Côte-Vertu stations. The transport company will conduct an investigation this week to understand the exact causes of the problem, installing cameras under the trains. According to Mr. Coderre, answers should be available by Friday. He refuses for the moment to say that the AZUR cars are defective, and insists that the problem is not one of security, but rather a “physical” problem of the system.

Commissioned for the first time last February, three AZUR trains were already withdrawn last June after a crack was observed in the suspension system.

A batch of 52 AZUR cars on the STM network is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018. A total of 468 new trains are to be built by the Bombardier-Alstom consortium in a project valued at $ 1.2 billion .

But even before the deployment of the first AZUR cars, concerns about the dimensions of new cars have already been raised in April 2014.

Due to the size of the AZUR model, the STM had to make a series of modifications to its network prior to the deployment of its new fleet, including the filing of certain tracks.

Mr. Coderre goes on to say that the STM wants to improve its communication with users when a breakdown occurs. “We were reproached for being too vague. The STM is working on it and will review all of its messages. “

Picture By Mapdark – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link