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MONTREAL \u2014 Two new lines for Montreal\u2019s fully automated light-rail network, known as the REM, won\u2019t open as planned this fall.<\/p>\n
Instead, only the Deux-Montagnes branch connecting downtown\u2019s central station to Montreal\u2019s northwest suburbs across the river from Laval, Que., will begin operating in November.<\/p>\n
CDPQ Infra, the subsidiary of Quebec\u2019s public pension fund manager that is developing the network, said the Anse-\u00e0-l\u2019Orme branch running to Montreal\u2019s West Island along Highway 40 is now scheduled to open in the spring of 2026.<\/p>\n
The two branches were scheduled to enter service at the end of 2024, but that timeline was postponed to fall 2025 and management had been looking at an October start for several months.<\/p>\n
The first five stations of the REM \u2014 R\u00e9seau express m\u00e9tropolitain \u2014 connecting Montreal\u2019s South Shore to downtown\u2019s central station opened in July 2023. The project has faced criticism from passengers about its reliability, especially last winter when the trains suffered multiple stoppages.<\/p>\n
When asked about the frustration of future passengers, CDPQ Infra president and CEO Jean-Marc Arbaud emphasized the scale of the project. \u201cIn seven years, no project in Canada has been completed on such a time frame on the same scale,\u201d Arbaud told a news conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t reject the criticism,\u201d he added. \u201cIn the end, what I\u2019m saying is that we did it, everyone who worked on the project did more than their best, and it\u2019s a success.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The latest delays will have no effect on the construction cost update, said Arbaud, who is set to retire at the end of the calendar year. The project is estimated to cost $9.4 billion, about $2.4 billion more than the initial forecast in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re roughly \u2026 at $150 million per kilometre, automated, fully equipped,\u201d Arbaud said. \u201cMost projects in Canada cost around $300 million to $400 million\u201d per km.<\/p>\n
CDPQ Infra also said they\u2019ve gained an understanding of the problems that occurred last winter, adding that it expects this winter to go more smoothly.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsers had a difficult winter last winter, and we\u2019re well aware of that, which is why we\u2019ve completely rethought the plan,\u201d assured Lo\u00efc Cordelle, executive director of the consortium, composed of Alstom and AtkinsR\u00e9alis, that is operating the network.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cordelle said staff have been hired and that technical issues have been identified and resolved.<\/p>\n
When fully operational the electric network will be composed of 26 stations operating over 67 kilometres, with the last stretch to the Montr\u00e9al Trudeau International Airport scheduled to open in fall 2027.<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n