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The cost of Montreal’s new light-rail train network has risen from $6.3 billion to just under $8 billion, an increase of 26 per cent since 2018.
CDPQ Infra, the developer of the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) and a subsidiary of Quebec’s pension fund manager, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, provided a project update on Wednesday. It’s been about six weeks since the launch of the service’s southern branch that links downtown Montreal to the city’s South Shore.
According to the developer, the new price tag was caused largely by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, the war in Ukraine, and the delays caused by the discovery of century-old dynamite in the Mount Royal tunnel during construction.
CDPQ Infra insists the cost increse is reasonable compared to other large public transit projects around the world.
It also says it will absorb the cost overruns, as per its agreement with the Quebec government.
Here are some key takeaways from Wednesday’s REM update, including the timeline for the station in Griffintown, numbers on ridership, concerns about parking and service outages.
The hype is real. It’s finally here. Watch this before hopping on board.
Doubts about Griffintown station
When it’s complete, the REM network will feature 26 stations that span 67 kilometres and connect riders to Montreal’s South Shore, the West Island, western Laval and the town of Deux-Montagnes.
The links to the West Island and Deux Montagnes are expected to be up and running by the end of 2024, with tests set to begin earlier that year. The REM’s link to the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport is expected to be ready in 2027.
Although the South Shore branch is up and running, one of its stations — the Griffintown–Bernard-Landry Station — remains closed.
Last month, a spokesperson for CDPQ Infra told CBC News that the opening of the station was being pushed back from sometime in 2024 to 2027. He said that delay is due to the complexities of building a station on a line that’s already in operation.
On Wednesday, Jean-Marc Arbaud, the president and CEO of CDPQ Infra, said there would be an update on the station by the beginning of next year, after meetings are held with government officials. When asked specifically if there is a chance 2027 is still a target for the opening of the station in Griffintown, Arbaud paused and said: “I don’t know.”
The REM network’s construction is about 85 per cent complete, according to the developer.
Is it faster to drive in from the South Shore? Or speedier to take the REM? We decided to find out.
More than a million trips so far
According to CDPQ Infra, a daily average of 30,000 passengers have used the REM since its first regular day of service of July 31, and the service has surpassed the one-million ride mark.
CDPQ Infra says the busiest day was Sept. 7, with 35,000 trips taken.
The first week of the REM was filled with hiccups, including three service outages in the first three days of regular service.
The REM has been in operation for at least 860 hours. CDPQ Infra says the outages lasted a total of about eight hours, prompting it to claim that the new service has proven to be 99 per cent reliable so far.
The REM came with a non-competition agreement between its developer and the regional transit authority (ARTM) that prevents buses from other transit networks from crossing the Champlain Bridge.
Rex Wang describes his experience on the REM so far as just “OK.”
“I do feel like the old bus system was a lot faster,” Wang said, who also feels the $4.50 fare to get to Montreal should be lowered.
Parking headaches
Victoria Banville, a student at the Université du Quebec à Montréal (UQAM) started commuting from the South Shore via the REM about a week ago.
So far, she’s liking the experience and plans to stick with the REM permanently, even though finding a parking spot before hopping on board has been a big challenge.
“It’s been like an hour that I’ve been moving around trying to find a spot,” Banville told CBC News.
There are 2,960 park-and-ride spots at the Brossard station and about 300 at the Panama station.
Denis Andlauer, CDPQ Infra’s vice-president, said the number of park-and-ride spots on the South Shore is essentially the same compared to the pre-REM days, but he stressed that the goal is to get people to use the fleet of buses that feed directly into the REM.
“There is as much room for cars as before,” he said. “But the objective is to put in place real public transit, from start to finish.”
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