Users of the blue line of the Montreal metro will have to wait before the Fabre, Iberville and Saint-Michel stations, which were emergency closed Thursday evening, reopen their doors, confirms the general director of the Société de transport de Montréal ( STM).
“We must understand here that it will take a few days or even a few weeks. So, it’s not tomorrow morning that we’re going to reopen,” admitted Marie-Claude Léonard, during a press briefing given early Friday morning in front of the Saint-Michel station.
Mme Léonard specified that the decision to close the stations was taken after STM employees discovered “significant deterioration” of a beam located “under one of the two entrances” of Saint-Michel station.
“This beam is located above the footbridge which allows you to cross the two tracks. So, for security measures, the STM had to close the St-Michel station. »
“Our civil engineering teams are investigating. We will want to know more about the causes. We will want to better understand what it will take to secure and be able to repair,” she also clarified.
The Fabre and Iberville stations are closed “for operational reasons” to allow the STM to “return” its trains. As the Saint-Michel station is closed, this operation can only be carried out at the Jean-Talon station, explained Mme Leonard.
“We are really aware and sorry for the impact this has on our customers, but we cannot afford to put anyone’s safety at risk,” argued the boss of the STM.
Marie-Claude Léonard took the opportunity to deplore the government’s lack of investment in maintaining STM assets.
The mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, and the president of the STM board of directors Éric Alan Caldwell, are also due to meet journalists at 10:30 a.m. in front of Saint-Michel station to take stock of the situation.
A shuttle bus service, line 809, was set up on Thursday evening to serve users. This bus stops at closed stations in both directions.
Another media event scheduled to take place Friday morning, concerning the extension of the blue line, has been canceled. The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, was to participate in this announcement.
With The Canadian Press