The metro vacuum that passes by night
24Hrs tells about the train dépoussiéreur that cleans the metro tracks after closing time: a single vehicle dating from 1967 that cannot be replaced.
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Chris 15:42 on 2026-04-27 Permalink
What do you mean cannot be replaced? It’s a glorified vacuum cleaner, hardly beyond our engineering abilities. Of course we are too broke/cheap to do so, but…
Kevin 16:05 on 2026-04-27 Permalink
Earlier this month was provincial stage day, and one of my kids got to go to the STM garage and spend the day checking out this machine and many others.
The mechanics have the tools, equipment and the skills to build an entire train from scratch. They could certainly build another train-sized vacuum cleaner if they had the time and money to do so.
Oh, and it’s not mentioned in that piece, but it’s a three-car train. The first is the vacuum, the two trailers are the garbage containers.
Joey 16:58 on 2026-04-27 Permalink
Interesting piece. The guy in charge explains that, obviously, the cleaner train can be replaced – in fact the new ones can clean more than just the tracks – but the cost would be in the tens of millions of dollars, so the STM prefers to tinker and have his team keep it running. To Kevin’s point, they have a ton of expertise – having replaced the engine from manual to automatic, etc., over the years.
“A glorified vacuum cleaner” seems like a stretch but what do I know.
CE 17:09 on 2026-04-27 Permalink
Anyone who has ever seen the condition of the tracks on American subway systems, NYC in particular, knows how good of a job this machine is doing.
Joey 17:23 on 2026-04-27 Permalink
Also too, the article makes clear that the issue isn’t litter, it’s filthy dust from tires, breaks, the engine, etc., that if not vacuumed can be pose a health risk to transit users. While it does pick up small items as well, that’s not the intention of twice-weekly cleaning that takes nearly all night.
DeWolf 17:37 on 2026-04-27 Permalink
Question since it’s related: I live right above the metro and every night around 1am and again around 5am (if I happen to by lying in bed awake at either of those times) there is a fait but noticeable rumble as some vehicle passes down the tracks. It’s the only time you’d ever guess the metro line is underneath because normally there’s absolutely no vibrations or sound.
Anyone know what it could be? I was thinking it was this vacuum train but it happens more often than twice a week.