Residents of the greater Montreal area hoping to use the city’s light-rail network (REM) will have to exercise patience, as officials pushed back the opening of the Deux-Montagnes and West Island lines again, this time until fall 2025.
CDPQ Infra, the subsidiary of Quebec’s public pension fund that is building the rail system, also announced Thursday regular service interruptions to the Brossard line starting in January 2025.
These disruptions will mostly be on weekends at first, but service to Montreal’s south shore will be entirely interrupted for up to six weeks in summer 2025.
Officials insist these delays and outages are required to ensure the network’s safety, although they also say they understand how this may be frustrating to public transit users who have been waiting several years for the REM’s opening.
“Everyone is motivated to make it happen,” said CDPQ Infra president and CEO Jean-Marc Arbaud. “I can guarantee you that everyone is working every day for that.”
Arbaud places some of the blame for the repeated delays on unpredictable events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Another major disruption to the REM’s construction was the discovery in 2020 of century-old dynamite in the Mount Royal tunnel. The tunnel is a vital part of the light-rail system, linking its western lines to downtown Montreal.
These challenges have raised the project’s overall budget to $8.3 billion, up $2 billion from the initial 2018 estimate of $6.3 billion.
It’s possible more unforeseen events could push the fall 2025 deadline back even further, Arbaud admits.
“I’m not worried,” he said. “But it could happen.”
Arbaud says that he remains confident CDPQ Infra will reach its goal, adding all signs are pointing “in the right direction.”
During service interruptions to the south shore, shuttle buses will be offered to commuters.
These buses were not always reliable during previous disruptions, but CDPQ Infra says it will be different this time.
“When there’s an outage, it’s never predictable,” said vice-president of operations Denis Andlauer. “Now, (…) everything is planned.”
More than 28,000 people currently use the REM each day on average, according to Andlauer. He says the shuttle service will be able to accommodate everyone.
In Montreal’s St-Laurent borough, which will see the REM pass through it, Mayor Alan DeSousa is still waiting for the train network to be operational. But he says he understands the need for the delays.
“When they put it in service, let’s make sure it works,” said DeSousa. “Now that’s my hope and if they’re able to do that, they won’t hear any complaints from me.”
Once fully completed, the REM will also offer transportation to the Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
That section of the network, however, will only be in service starting in 2027, according to the REM website.
— with files from the Canadian Press
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