1.
Quebec
–
Quebec is the second-most populous province of Canada and the only one to have a predominantly French-speaking population, with French as the sole provincial official language. Quebec is Canadas largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division and it also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canadas second-most populous province, after Ontario, most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. Approximately half of Quebec residents live in the Greater Montreal Area, the Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples. Even in central Quebec at comparatively southerly latitudes winters are severe in inland areas, Quebec independence debates have played a large role in the politics of the province. Parti Québécois governments held referendums on sovereignty in 1980 and 1995, in 2006, the House of Commons of Canada passed a symbolic motion recognizing the Québécois as a nation within a united Canada. These many industries have all contributed to helping Quebec become an economically influential province within Canada, early variations in the spelling of the name included Québecq and Kébec. French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose the name Québec in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the seat for the French colony of New France. The province is sometimes referred to as La belle province, the Province of Quebec was founded in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 after the Treaty of Paris formally transferred the French colony of Canada to Britain after the Seven Years War. The proclamation restricted the province to an area along the banks of the Saint Lawrence River, the Treaty of Versailles ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States. After the Constitutional Act of 1791, the territory was divided between Lower Canada and Upper Canada, with each being granted an elected legislative assembly, in 1840, these become Canada East and Canada West after the British Parliament unified Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. This territory was redivided into the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario at Confederation in 1867, each became one of the first four provinces. In 1898, the Canadian Parliament passed the first Quebec Boundary Extension Act that expanded the provincial boundaries northward to include the lands of the aboriginal peoples. This was followed by the addition of the District of Ungava through the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act of 1912 that added the northernmost lands of the Inuit to create the modern Province of Quebec. In 1927, the border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador was established by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Located in the part of Canada, and part of Central Canada. Its topography is very different from one region to another due to the composition of the ground, the climate. The Saint Lawrence Lowland and the Canadian Shield are the two main regions, and are radically different
2.
Commuter rail in North America
–
It does not include rapid transit or light rail service. Many, but not all, newer commuter railways offer service during peak times only, for example, the West Coast Express commuter rail line runs trains only into Downtown Vancouver during the morning rush hour, and out to the suburbs during the evening rush hour. Other systems avoid the problem entirely by using multiple units. GO Transit in Toronto operates mainly during rush hours on most lines, but offers all-day service seven days a week along its busiest corridor, all of GOs train routes radiate from Toronto Union Station downtown. Future plans for all-day, bidirectional service on all lines are in the works under Metrolinxs The Big Move plan, the Utah Transit Authority operates the FrontRunner, running on thirty-minute headways during weekday rush hours and sixty-minute headways at all other times on weekdays and Saturdays. Service runs until midnight on weeknights, and until just after 2 a. m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The FrontRunner is bidirectional during the entirety of its operating hours, most older, established commuter rail services operate seven days a week, with service from early morning to just after midnight. The Long Island Rail Road is the only 24/7 commuter railroad in North America, the Metro-North Railroad, also serving the New York City Metropolitan Area, runs at all times except the very early morning hours. On these systems, patrons use the trains not just to get to and from work or school, but also for attending sporting events, concerts, theatre, some also provide service to popular weekend getaway spots and recreation areas. Most commuter rail services in North America are operated by government entities or quasi-governmental organizations, almost all share tracks or rights-of-way used by longer-distance passenger services, freight trains, or other commuter services. The 600-mile-long electrified Northeast Corridor in the United States is shared by trains and Amtraks Acela Express, regional. Commuter rail operators often sell reduced-price multiple-trip tickets, charge specific station-to-station fares, Commuter trains typically connect to metro or bus services at their destination and along their route. This is different from the European use of rail, which generally refers to services midway between commuter rail and intercity rail that are not primarily commuter-oriented. The commuter railroads serving the Chicago area are Metra and the South Shore Line, another notable commuter railroad system is Bostons MBTA Commuter Rail, the fifth or sixth busiest in the U. S. with a daily weekday ridership of 130,600 as of Q42011. It serves the Greater Boston metropolitan area, and extends as far south as Wickford, there are only three commuter rail agencies in Canada, GO Transit in Toronto, Agence métropolitaine de transport in Montreal, and West Coast Express in Vancouver. The two busiest rail stations in Canada are Union Station in Toronto and Central Station in Montreal, Commuter rail networks outside of densely populated urban areas like the Washington D. C. New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Montreal, since the late 1990s, commuter rail networks have been inaugurated in Dallas, San Diego, Minneapolis, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Orlando, and Albuquerque, among other cities. Several more commuter rail projects have been proposed and are in the planning stages, Commuter trains are either powered by diesel-electric or electric locomotives, or else use self-propelled cars
3.
Montreal Central Station
–
Central Station is the major inter-city rail station and a major commuter rail hub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Nearly 11 million rail passengers use the station every year, the main concourse occupies almost the entire block bounded by rue de La Gauchetière, Robert-Bourassa Boulevard, René Lévesque Boulevard and Mansfield Street. Its street address and principal vehicular access are on de La Gauchetière, the station is adorned with art deco bas-relief friezes on its interior and exterior. The station building and associated properties are owned by Cominar REIT as of January 2012, homburg Invest Inc. was the previous owner, since November 30,2007. Prior to that, from the inception in 1943, it had been owned by Canadian National Railway. Inter-city trains at Central Station are operated by Via Rail and Amtrak, the station is also connected to the Montreal Metro subway system. Central Station is the second-busiest Via Rail station in Canada, after Toronto Union Station and its Via station code is MTRL, its Amtrak code is MTR, and its IATA code is YMY. Central Station opened in 1943, after years of construction. It stands on the site occupied by the terminus of the Canadian Northern Railways Tunnel Terminal which had originally opened in 1918. The merger left CNR with a somewhat viable patchwork of different networks, CNR endured a highly uncomfortable position in Montreal due to the scattering of its terminals. At the end of the 1920s, the newly formed Canadian National Railways struggled with disparate Montreal terminals, what made matters worse was that the various stations were only connected to each other via long detours. The solution chosen was to take advantage of the Mount Royal Tunnel to bring trains from the north, trains from the south and west gained access by a new elevated viaduct. Interurban electric trains, however, remained at McGill Street Terminal until the service was abandoned in 1956, the new station plan allowed for the development of air-rights, similar to Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station, both in New York City. The new Central Station would be situated in the bounded by De la Gauchetière Street to the south, Mansfield Street to the west, Cathcart Street to the north. Central Station was designed by John Schofield, architect-in-chief of CNR, construction started in 1926, but was halted in 1930 as a result of the Great Depression. Construction resumed in 1939, the economy having improved, the new station finally opened on July 14,1943, as the first of a series of large-scale urban redevelopment projects undertaken by CNR and the federal government in Downtown Montreal. But the Central Station that came out was a more modest central station with 20 tracks, Central Station was an important passenger station for CN trains from 1943 until the creation of Via Rail in 1978. Following Vias full absorption of CPs passenger trains in 1978, intercity rail traffic from Windsor Station was slowly redirected to Central Station, the final Via trains switched from Windsor Station to Central Station were the Quebec City trains that operated by way of Trois-Rivières
4.
Side platform
–
A side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. Dual side platform stations, one for direction of travel, is the basic station design used for double-track railway lines. Side platforms may result in a wider overall footprint for the station compared with a platform where a single width of platform can be shared by riders using either track. In some stations, the two platforms are connected by a footbridge running above and over the tracks. While a pair of platforms is often provided on a dual-track line. Where the station is close to a crossing the platforms may either be on the same side of the crossing road or alternatively may be staggered in one of two ways. With the near-side platforms configuration, each platform appears before the intersection, in some situations a single side platform can be served by multiple vehicles simultaneously with a scissors crossing provided to allow access mid-way along its length. Normally, the facilities of the station are located on the Up platform with the other platform accessed from a footbridge. However, in cases the stations main buildings are located on whichever side faces the town or village the station serves. Larger stations may have two platforms with several island platforms in between. Some are in a Spanish solution format, with two platforms and an island platform in between, serving two tracks
5.
Park Avenue station (Montreal)
–
CPR Park Avenue Station is a former railway station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the end of Park Avenue and its main entrance faces Jean-Talon Street. It is situated in the Park Extension neighbourhood of the borough of Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, the Canadian Pacific Railway built the CPR Park Avenue Station, which was designed by architect Colin Drewitt and opened in 1931. It was inaugurated in the presence of Camillien Houde, the mayor of Montreal at the time, Jean-Talon station replaced the Mile End railway station, which was located near the corner of Saint Laurent Boulevard and Bernard Street. In its time, all trains headed toward Quebec City, Ottawa, the stations role as an important railway stop permitted the station to host many important figures. One such event occurred in 1939, when the station was the site of a visit by George VI and the Queen Mother. CPR Park Avenue Station was an important stop for passengers until the early 1950s. Following the closure of Viger Station in 1951, Jean-Talon station suffered a decline in traffic. It was closed itself in 1984 when Via Rail Canada transferred the southern terminal of the Montreal-Quebec City via Trois-Rivieres train service from Windsor Station to Central Station. The central portion of the building became an Indigo Books and Music store, which closed and was replaced by a Société des alcools du Québec store, the building no longer serves its original vocation as a railway station. The main entrance to the building, faces the intersection of Park Avenue, the central portion of the building currently houses a Joe Fresh outlet. The entrance to the Parc Metro station was built within the mens smoking room. Adjacent to the CPR Park Avenue Station is the separate Parc commuter rail station opened in 1997 as Jean-Talon
6.
De La Concorde station
–
De la Concorde is a station on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal. It is located in the Laval-des-Rapides district of Laval, Quebec and it is part of an extension to the line to Laval and was opened on April 28,2007. The station is a side platform station, built in tunnel with a central section in the shape of a cube. The upper surface of the cube protrudes out of the earth and is rimmed with skylights, the stations decor is primarily bare concrete, metal, and steel, with the platforms ultramarine tiles and enlarged photographs of grass providing colour. The escalator shaft from the building to the ticket hall also protrudes out of the earth as a glazed cylinder reminiscent of Norman Fosters fosterito metro entrances in the Bilbao Metro. The entrance building is split-level, one providing access to the station. The train station is located at a level and the platforms continue onto a viaduct over Boul. de la Concorde. Also at this level is a park and ride loop and bicycle trail access, the area to the east of the station entrance is landscaped, with benches and a terrace provided on top of the station cube. The footpath leading to the station is the site of the stations artwork, the station is named after boulevard de la Concorde, which in turn is named for the Place de la Concorde in Paris
593 Park-and-Ride, 2 Carpooling, and 6 Disabled spaces\[1]