The people of Montreal and the surrounding area will have to wait a little longer before they have a chance to travel on the long-awaited light rail network, as the project promoter announced that the opening of most of the stations will be delayed.
Eighteen of the 26 REM stations were supposed to open gradually in three sentences between the fall of 2023 and the fall of 2024. CDPQ Infra now says that each of these stations will open simultaneously by the end of 2024.
In a statement issued Monday, CDPQ Infra, a subsidiary of Quebec pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said “significant challenges” in the Mount Royal tunnel were behind the delay.
“It is not possible to start the required tests in the tunnel before the summer of 2024. These tests are essential to ensure that the services are up and running safely.”
There is good news for travelers on the south coast, as the service between there and downtown Montreal is still expected to start operating next fall.
The delay, however, will affect residents north and west of Montreal, as the Deux-Montagnes commuter train line, which connects to downtown Montreal, has been closed since January 2021.
Next fall, the developer will announce when it will begin service to Trudeau International Airport.
This is not the first time that the Mount Royal tunnel is behind a delay in the REM project.
In November 2020, CDPQ Infra held a press conference to announce that it had found centuries-old explosives in the tunnel, which contributed to the general degradation of the structure.
According to CDPQ Infra, the problems it is dealing with in the tunnel could have forced it to delay the western part of the Deux-Montagnes light rail network at Anse-à-l’Orme until the spring of 2026.
“The last few months have been spent finding a solution to optimize the testing schedule and make sure the services are up and running by the end of 2024,” the developer said.
In the fall of 2020, 100-year-old explosives were found in the Mount Royal Tunnel, which has since caused delays on the light rail network. (Radio-Canada)
Build a bike route along the REM road, say the district mayors
In view of this delay, two Montreal district mayors are asking the creators of the REM to establish a bike path, or bike route, along the path of the light rail network as an option for people who they live in the west and north of the city. .
They say the route could link the Saint-Laurent district with the town of Deux-Montagnes, passing through Pierrefonds-Roxboro and a stretch of Laval, which spans more than 20 kilometers.
On Monday, Saint-Laurent Mayor Alain DeSousa and Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Dimitrios Jim Beis issued a statement describing the idea as “an opportunity to seize,” given the delay in building the REM.
Both DeSousa and Beis are with the Opposition Party in the City Council, Ensemble Montréal.
“The véloroute is a major project for residents of northwest Montreal for whom mobility options are limited,” DeSousa said in a statement, adding that the bike route would isolate certain regions and improve access to the main work centers on and around the island. of Montreal.
The two mayors also suggest that the bike route could connect Montpellier train station, located in Saint-Laurent, with the Parc des Arbres in Pierrefonds-Roxboro.
They say the route could connect to the north coast creating a passage through the old railway bridge to Île Bigras, part of the city of Laval.