The new postponement of the South Shore branch of the Metropolitan Express Network (REM) was met with mixed feelings on Wednesday, between concerns and calls for caution in an inflationary and unpredictable context. In the industry, however, we say we are already ready to launch the machine, no matter when the light rail system will see the light of day.
“Of course we are disappointed. Our fear is that if we open in July while everyone is on vacation, we won’t give ourselves the chance to have good traffic figures, “says Sarah Doyon, the general manager of Trajectoire Québec, which represents the rights of public transit users.
However, she says she understands that it is better to postpone if the system is not yet ready. “The reality is that we cannot afford to arrive with an infrastructure that is not reliable. We would really lose more membership if we opened a system that crashes, that breaks down regularly. People would associate the REM with an image of unreliability”, pleads Mme Doyon.
It is also concerned that the total cost of the project may exceed the $ 7 billion announced, an increase of at least 30% cannot be excluded according to our information. “It will become an impressive bill, but we are not surprised given the inflation and the overheating in the market. […] The idea of giving the project to CDPQ Infra was precisely to do it on time and on budget, so it shows above all that the problem is not necessarily the project leader,” she says.
“We can’t wait for it to be put into service, we are even impatient, but the most important thing is that it goes well when it is put into service”, also mentions the coordinator of the Alliance for the financing of public transport in Quebec (TRANSIT), Samuel Pagé-Plouffe.
His group says that the situation “should encourage us collectively to call for the responsibility of decision-makers in the choice of projects”. “The PQI went from 100 billion to 150 billion in a few years. The government has greatly improved infrastructure projects, except that we know that this contributes to accentuating inflation. We must be particularly careful not to make projects that are unjustified, including projects to increase road capacity,” notes Mr. Pagé-Plouffe.
The “Ready” network
Regardless of when the REM comes into service, the network will be ready, says the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM). “The overhaul of the exo, RTL and STM bus networks will be rolled out according to the date the REM comes into service. The field squads are formed and the information campaign is ready”, illustrates its spokesperson, Simon Charbonneau.
He recalls that pricing is also “already integrated” into the REM since the adoption of “metropolitan titles”, which makes it possible to pay an amount according to the number of zones borrowed, both for the metro and the buses and the new CDPQ light rail. Infra.
However, one thing remains to be done, specifies Mr. Charbonneau: the finalization of the Chrono route planner, which “will be ready as soon as we receive the GTFS from Projetco”, the firm of architects behind the REM project. Note: “General Transit Feed Specification”, for GTFS, is a technology that allows users to communicate schedules directly to users, as in the Montreal metro.
At exo, the director of customer experience, Marie Hélène Cloutier, has also been preparing for several months for the arrival of the REM on the South Shore. “Our local supply will increase. We will serve places where there has been no service so far, in industrial areas, shopping centers, health service centers. With the drawdown to the REM, the table is really set for us to have an attractive offer for users,” she explains.
His group also says it is confident that the overhaul of the bus network that will be generated by the arrival of the REM “will result in the acquisition of new customers”. “It is expected that the growth [de l’achalandage] come on, that’s for sure. It’s mathematical: this overhaul also allowed us to broaden our service offer, to increase the frequencies”, reasons Mme Cloutier.
The story is the same at the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), which says it is fully “ready for the start of the REM”. “We are just waiting for the official date for the final implementations,” says its spokesperson, Isabelle Tremblay.
“We are ready for the commissioning of the REM’s South Shore branch. We have been there since this fall, on the first date announced, and we still are, ”also confirms for her part the head of communications for the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL), Aline Pinxteren.
The story so far
- October 20, 2022: The commissioning of the REM’s southern branch, scheduled for October 1er December of the same year, is postponed to spring. This is the second postponement of the project.
- April 21, 2023: CDPQ Infra tempers expectations: while there will certainly be “no third postponement”, users will however have to plan for a “run-in period” for the new systems until September.
- May 17, 2023: The commissioning of the REM between Brossard and Montreal Central Station is again postponed by a few days, or even weeks.