MONTREAL — Passengers in the Greater Montreal area will be able to resume their regular commutes this morning as transit company Exo Transit resumes operations following the end of the work stoppage at Canada’s two largest railroad companies.

Exo spokeswoman Catherine Maurice said Sunday that service on the Candiac, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines would return to regular schedules after an abrupt halt Thursday morning that caught many commuters by surprise.

Maurice said the bus shuttle service would continue today to “cope with any problems” for the 21,000 daily passengers on these routes.

She said Exo expects track congestion as Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City increase operations.

Select commuter lines in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver came to a halt last week after rail companies locked out 9,300 employees, including Canadian Pacific dispatchers who direct traffic on tracks owned by the company but used by commuter trains.

On Saturday, the Federal Labor Department ordered the railway to resume operations. Employees must return to work as of 00:01 this morning before a binding arbitration procedure is carried out. The aim of the procedure is to resolve the labor impasse that led to the closure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 26, 2024.

The Canadian Press