The Metropolitan Express Network (REM) was to be inaugurated in the spring, had promised CDPQ Infra, but its commissioning will take place rather in the summer.
A series of “dry run” tests of trains without passengers were to be carried out to ensure the reliability of the system before the official entry into service of the REM, but these tests have been delayed, which makes so that the inauguration of the REM cannot take place before June 21, according to information obtained by The duty from a source familiar with the matter. It is The Press who first reported a new postponement on Wednesday.
Last month, as part of a tour of the Brossard station facilities, the vice-president of operations and head of the REM’s operation phase, Denis Andlauer, had nevertheless assured that another postponement of the inauguration of the project was excluded. “There will be no third postponement,” he said.
On Wednesday, CDPQ Infra remained evasive. ” We are almost there. As you can see, REM cars are everywhere on the network and we are in the very intensive phase of the final tests, but what matters first and foremost is that the user experience is optimal at from the first passage, “said the subsidiary of the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec in a statement sent to the media.
It is specified that the date of entry into service will be communicated when the CDPQ Infra has all the assurances of the reliability of the service. “But it’s fast approaching.”
Several postponements
The commissioning of the REM was first announced for the summer of 2022, before being postponed twice to finally be set for the spring of 2023.
In October 2022, CDPQ Infra had also indicated that the cost of the project could increase further. At that time, the bill reached $6.9 billion. CDPQ Infra has still not confirmed the final amount of the invoice.
The first section of the REM, which connects Brossard to Central Station in Montreal, includes five stations. The rest of the network will be gradually brought into service over the next few years. Ultimately, the REM will have 26 stations with a network extending over 67 kilometres. It will allow passengers to reach the West Island of Montreal, as well as Deux-Montagnes and Montreal-Trudeau Airport.
At Montreal City Hall, we are impatiently awaiting the commissioning of the REM “which will greatly improve mobility in Montreal”. “We are confident that CDPQ infra is working tirelessly to deliver a reliable, quality product. The metropolitan population has high expectations for this major project. We are all looking forward to seeing it running at full speed, ”said the person in charge of transport and mobility on the executive committee, Sophie Mauzerolle, in an email.
With Alexandre Robillard