MR-73

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Metro train model used in Montreal

title: "MR-73" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bombardier-transportation-multiple-units", "montreal-metro", "train-related-introductions-in-1976", "electric-multiple-units-of-canada", "750-v-dc-multiple-units", "3-car-emus"] description: "Metro train model used in Montreal" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR-73" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Metro train model used in Montreal ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox train"]

FieldValue
nameMR-73
imageMR-73 and MPM-10 in background.jpg
captionAn MR-73 train on the Green Line in 2025, with a MPM-10 train on the background
interiorimageInterieur mr73.jpg
interiorcaptionRefurbished interior of an MR-73 train
service1976–present
manufacturerBombardier Transportation
factoryLa Pocatière, Quebec
replacedMR-63 (rescue)
yearconstruction1974–1980
yearserviceNovember 11, 1976
refurbishment2005–2008
numberbuilt423
numberservice360
numberpreserved1
numberscrapped62
formation3 cars per trainset, operating as 6- or 9-car trains
fleetnumbers{{plainlist
capacity{{plainlist
operatorSociété de transport de Montréal
depotsPlateau d'Youville, Saint-Charles, Montmorency, Angrignon, Beaugrand, Côte-Vertu
lines{{plainlist
carbodyLightweight steel alloy
width2.5 m
doors4 pairs per side
maxspeed{{plainlist
* {{convert80
* {{convert72
weight26,990 kg per car (unladen)
acceleration5.2 km/h/s
tractionChopper control (Jeumont)
poweroutput174 kW
hvacForced-air ventilation, in-train heater
electricsystem750 V DC (nominal) from third rail on guide bars at either track side
collectionmethodSide-running contact shoe
bogies2 sets per car
brakesDynamic brakes with STM wooden brake shoes
safetyATC/ATO
gaugebetween 2 roll ways
::

| background = | name = MR-73 | image = MR-73 and MPM-10 in background.jpg | imagealt = | imagesize = | caption = An MR-73 train on the Green Line in 2025, with a MPM-10 train on the background | interiorimage = Interieur mr73.jpg | interiorimagealt = | interiorcaption = Refurbished interior of an MR-73 train | stocktype = | service = 1976–present | manufacturer = Bombardier Transportation | factory = La Pocatière, Quebec | family = | replaced = MR-63 (rescue) | yearconstruction = 1974–1980 | yearservice = November 11, 1976 | refurbishment = 2005–2008 | numberconstruction = | numberbuilt = 423 | numberservice = 360 | numberpreserved = 1 | numberscrapped = 62 | formation = 3 cars per trainset, operating as 6- or 9-car trains | fleetnumbers = {{plainlist|

  • 79-501 to 79-782 (motor) & 78-001 to 78-141 (trailer) | capacity = {{plainlist|
  • 160 total per car
  • 39–40 seated per car
  • 1,440 total per train | operator = Société de transport de Montréal | depots = Plateau d'Youville, Saint-Charles, Montmorency, Angrignon, Beaugrand, Côte-Vertu | lines = {{plainlist|
  • Green Line
  • Yellow Line
  • Blue Line | carbody = Lightweight steel alloy | trainlength = | carlength = | width = 2.5 m | height = | floorheight = | platformheight = | entrylevelorstep = | doors = 4 pairs per side | art-sections = | maxspeed = {{plainlist|
  • 80 km/h (design)
  • 72 km/h (service) | weight = 26,990 kg per car (unladen) | acceleration = 5.2 km/h/s | deceleration = | traction = Chopper control (Jeumont) | engine = | poweroutput = 174 kW | transmission = | aux = | hvac = Forced-air ventilation, in-train heater | electricsystem = 750 V DC (nominal) from third rail on guide bars at either track side | collectionmethod = Side-running contact shoe | uicclass = | aarwheels = | bogies = 2 sets per car | brakes = Dynamic brakes with STM wooden brake shoes | safety = ATC/ATO | coupling = | multipleworking = | gauge = between 2 roll ways The MR-73 (Matériel roulant conçu en 1973) is the second generation of rubber-tired rolling stock used on the Montreal Metro. Manufactured by Bombardier Transportation, they entered service in November 1976.

Since the retirement of the first generation MR-63s, the MR-73 trains are in use on three of four Montreal's Metro lines. Replacement of the trains is planned for 2036, when they will be 60 years old.

History

In the early 1970s, the Commission de transport de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal (CTCUM), the predecessor of the STM, identified a need for more rolling stock to serve the crowds expected for the 1976 Summer Olympics and for future network expansions.

Contract award

Mayor of Montreal Jean Drapeau suggested to snowmobile manufacturer Bombardier that they should bid on the contract. Although the design of what was to later become the MR-73 was completed in 1973, it was only in 1974 that the CTCUM formally awarded the MR-73 contract to the fledgling Bombardier Transportation. A cheaper bid by Canadian Vickers, manufacturer of the MR-63 trains, was disqualified by a technicality.

Construction and entry into service

Bombardier had never manufactured a Metro train in Canada, and assistance was sought from SOFRETU, the French consultants who helped design the Metro, as well as from an Austrian subsidiary of Bombardier that previously manufactured trams.

The 423 MR-73 cars were manufactured at Bombardier's La Pocatière plant between 1974 and 1980 and the first units entered service in 1976. The MR-73's original interior featured orange-and-white seats arranged so that in each third of the train, there were two double sets of transverse seating and four single seats near the doors in longitudinal formation.

Automated announcements and visual information

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/ALSTOM_TELECITE_MDU_LG.gif" caption="left]]In the early 1990s, Alstom Télécité [[LED]] visual information screens were added on top of alternating side windows in all MR-73 cars.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG_zyodzp7g Passenger Information on Montréal métro]. [[YouTube]]. February 21, 2007. Retrieved 2013-02-13.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPAaiT0lnBY A Ride On An MR-73 With Our Good Friend Alstom Télécité!!]. [[YouTube]]. May 20, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-13.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbL2GXcKinM Montreal Metro: Service Disruption on Alstom Télécité!]. September 14, 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-13."] ::

Advertisements were displayed, along with information on the weather and upcoming stations. Around the same time, automated next-station announcements were introduced on the MR-73 and voiced by Judith Ouimet.

Interior refurbishment

In December 2005, work began to refurbish the now 30 year old trains. The trains were still very reliable, with a Mean Distance Between Failures (MDBF) exceeding 200,000 mi in 2004.

The MR-73 fleet underwent a $40 million refurbishment to reconfigure interior seating to increase total car capacity and install new poles and new panels with a new ergonomic colour scheme that discouraged vandalism, decreased motion sickness, and promoted aesthetic harmony. Seating capacity was reduced by six per carriage, increasing standing room. The refurbishment also include an ergonomic full-spectrum lighting system that provides therapeutic anti-depression effects for its passengers. Like the older MR-63 fleet, the MR-73 driver cabs was modernized and equipped with ergonomic features and digital dashboards. Work was completed in 2008.

Closing doors chime

In 2006, an MR-73 train was tested with a four-beep door chime, and in 2008, another high-pitched chime was tested. However, the new chimes were unpopular and so in 2010, a three-note sequence that is essentially replicating the last three audible notes from the electric chopper control traction system was tested, along with a voiceover by Michèle Deslauriers saying Attention, nous fermons les portes (Attention, we are closing the doors) after the three-note sound was played. The voiceover portion was soon removed, however, and since 2012, the MR-73s play the three-note sequence whenever the doors are about to close.

Retirement and replacement

The STM noted in 2014 that they planned for the fleet to remain in service until at least 2036.

The less reliable cars have been retired, with 63 cars scrapped from June 2021 to make room for the MPM-10 Azur. In June 2021, the first car of the series, 79-501, was returned to the La Pocatière plant, now owned by Bombardier's successor Alstom.

In 2022, STM announced they planned to replace the trains in the 2030s, with work underway to purchase new trains. This was estimated to cost around $2.9bn. The STM also noted that to increase the capacity of the Green Line by 37%, works to upgrade garages and signalling systems would be required as well as new rolling stock.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Montréal_Metro_MR-73_depart_á_Berri-UQAM.webm" caption="disp=or}})."] ::

The notes of the propulsion are the same as the first three notes of Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man", one of the musical themes for Expo 67, but that is apparently just a coincidence. The notes were so remarkable, that in 2010 these notes were chosen as the door closing sound for the Montréal Metro and as brand sound for the entire STM.

A prototype for the current chopper was built by the Canron company using a Jeumont original design in the early 1970s on an MR-63 train. Until the retirement of the MR–63s in 2018, one of the three elements of the "Jeumont Train" were operated on the Green Line among rheostatic-started MR-63s; one of these was much louder than the other. They are the only two to exhibit the whole five-note audible signature in normal operation even though it is possible to hear them during longer-than-usual starts on regular MR-73s.

Some MR-73s originally sported murals of Montreal at the end of the cars; however, they were damaged by vandalism and removed long ago.

The MR-73 has a different electrical braking system from the MR-63 to assist friction braking. The MR-73's current chopper recuperates energy when in braking mode, turning traction motors into generators and sending a regulated current back into the traction power supply for other trains to use. Electrical braking is most effective when one train draws power while it is starting, and another train at a different location sends power while it is braking.

The Mean Distance Between Failures (MDBF) for the MR-73 exceeded 200,000 mi in 2004.

Lines serviced

Green Line (1976–1985, 2016–present)

Orange Line (1976–2019, February 23, 2024)

Yellow Line (1976–2008, 2017–present)

Blue Line (1986–present)

Formation (as of December 2021)

::data[format=table]

Line #ColourNumber of trainsCompositionComments
1Montreal MetroGreen}}"13 (117 cars)
4Montreal MetroYellow}}"5 (45 cars)
5Montreal MetroBlue}}"18 (108 cars)
::

Notes

References

References

  1. "Rapport Annuel 1976 Annual Report".
  2. Magder, Jason. (14 Oct 2016). "The métro at 50: The clash with car culture". [[Montreal Gazette]].
  3. [http://www.stm.info/English/en-bref/a-dates.htm STM company timeline] {{webarchive. link. (2009-06-21. [[Société de transport de Montréal]]. Retrieved 2013-02-13.)
  4. Laurent, Rene. (1 June 1974). "Bombardier Metro contract may bring Vickers protest". [[Montreal Gazette]].
  5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvlk6XVSNvs&list=PLC869B9C72A941A41 Montreal Metro- Arriving train at Lionel-Groulx, Orange line]. [[YouTube]]. May 22, 2006. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLCum7JKjF0 Montreal Metro- Blue line from Jean-Talon to De Castelnau]. [[YouTube]]. May 22, 2006. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG_zyodzp7g Passenger Information on Montréal métro]. [[YouTube]]. February 21, 2007. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  8. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPAaiT0lnBY A Ride On An MR-73 With Our Good Friend Alstom Télécité!!]. [[YouTube]]. May 20, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  9. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbL2GXcKinM Montreal Metro: Service Disruption on Alstom Télécité!]. September 14, 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  10. [http://www.metrodemontreal.com/history/ouimet.html Judith Ouimet, The Voice of the Metro]. Metrodemontreal.com. March 12, 2002. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  11. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcjRkqYDeTY Berri-UQAM by Judith Ouimet]. [[YouTube]]. September 24, 2006. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  12. (29 October 2014). "When should the MR-73 métro cars be replaced? The STM responds".
  13. Modernising Montréal metro cars ''[[Railway Gazette International]]'' January 2006 page 20
  14. (4 June 2021). "Une voiture de métro MR-73 retourne chez Alstom".
  15. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGYeek9La3g Montreal Metro-Closing Doors Chime-MR73 train-1]. [[YouTube]]. October 14, 2006. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  16. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ej1E8rf1g8 Le métro qui fait Bip Bip]. [[YouTube]]. March 18, 2008. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  17. [http://blog.fagstein.com/2010/08/09/doo-doo-doo-immortalized/ Doo-doo-doo immortalized]. Blog.fagstein.com. August 9, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  18. [http://www.mouvementcollectif.org/en/grand_projets/dou-dou-dou DOU-DOU-DOU «ATTENTION, NOUS FERMONS LES PORTES…»]. [[Société de transport de Montréal]]. August 9, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  19. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu_1JM_UiuA Dou dou dou...the Montréal métro's signature sound.mp4]. [[YouTube]]. September 18, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  20. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoS41srXgHU MTL Métro: Updated and final version of MR73 closing door chime!]. [[YouTube]]. October 26, 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  21. Magder, Jason. (29 October 2014). "STM to keep MR-73 métro cars until at least 2036".
  22. (2017). "The STM will buy 17 more Azur trains to service the Green Line".
  23. (9 June 2021). "Montreal's first MR-73 métro car sent back to its birthplace to retire". Montreal Gazette.
  24. (28 November 2022). "Présentation aux médias Budget 2023 et Programme des immobilisations 2023-2032".
  25. Corriveau, Jeanne. (2023-01-27). "La STM plaide pour le remplacement des voitures MR-73".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

bombardier-transportation-multiple-unitsmontreal-metrotrain-related-introductions-in-1976electric-multiple-units-of-canada750-v-dc-multiple-units3-car-emus