The Eastern Metropolitan Express Network (REM) must be done, with or without the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ), believes Christian Yaccarini. The president of the Société de développement Angus (SDA), who sits on the committee of experts mandated to ensure the urban integration of the project, places a lot of hope in light rail, but according to him, aerial structures in the city center will never obtain social acceptability and undermine the project.
In its report tabled last month, the committee of experts had expressed serious concerns about the aerial structures planned above René-Lévesque Boulevard and the risk of urban fracture.
Christian Yaccarini has not changed his mind on this subject. According to him, CDPQ Infra, which is piloting the project, has not sufficiently explored the solutions of the REM de l’Est landfill, guided essentially by its performance objectives and by the fear of an increase in costs. “In the city center, you can’t do miracles with air travel. You can take a walk, but it’s still aerial structures. The Caisse never wanted to assess the real feasibility of doing it underground in the city center, ”he says. Yet other major cities are digging new lines into their downtown cores, he argues. “Why wouldn’t we be able to? […] There are technical challenges, but it’s really a question of profitability. »
Bury the REM downtown
The contractor believes that CDPQ Infra had the same attitude by rejecting the option of a third rail to ensure the power supply of the train in favor of catenaries or by rejecting the idea of steel structures, rather than concrete , in critical areas. The problem, according to him, is that the committee of experts chaired by Maud Cohen had no budget to carry out second opinions, which forced it to make do with studies carried out by CDPQ Infra.
Burying the REM in the city center would cost more, of course, but the additional investment is worth it, according to him. “My position is that we do it underground in the city center and that the governments of Quebec and Canada pay the additional cost that it represents. »
Christian Yaccarini acknowledges that there is a risk that CDPQ Infra will withdraw from the project. Never mind, the Eastern REM must be done anyway, he insists, because the East absolutely needs it. “The REM is not just a transportation axis. It is a development axis for the east of Montreal. […] The IPCC report[Groupe intergouvernemental d’experts sur l’évolution du climat] says that we must change our way of life. Alternatives must be offered. »
The project is not at the end of its troubles. The BAPE hearings have been postponed until the fall. Like transportation planning in Montreal, the Eastern REM suffers from a governance problem, says Christian Yaccarini. The City of Montreal has still not obtained a place at the decision-making table as it has been asking for for months. “Should we review transportation governance in Montreal? Surely, but please, do it quickly! Whether the project takes a year or two longer, it doesn’t matter. But it must not take 20 years, ”begs Christian Yaccarini.
He believes that in the circumstances, the committee of experts did an “excellent” job. Still, the pandemic has complicated the task. “Three quarters of the meetings were done on Teams. It took months before we could make a field visit and we only made one,” emphasizes Christian Yaccarini.
According to him, the committee of experts set up by the government does not please CDPQ Infra. “The government accepted it, but the Caisse suffered it. She was not a good player in that. I’m not talking about individuals, but I’m talking about the institution. They had a frame of reference, and you couldn’t get out of it. »