Failing to be consulted on the substance, the residents of Quebec will be consulted on the form of the tramway. On Friday, the City unveiled three vehicle designs that people can choose from next year.
“We are happy to be able to mark another step towards the success of this essential structuring project for our mobility”, declared the mayor Bruno Marchand, during an announcement with the leaders of Alstom which must design the rolling stock.
To boost the competition, the three concepts were given names in local colors: the Harfang, the Citadelle and the Boreal.
The announcement of this consultation comes as the city faces tenacious opposition to the project. At the beginning of May, a demonstration by the group “Tramway non merci” brought together a thousand people in front of the town hall.
The model chosen for the Quebec tramway, Citadis, has been used in 70 cities around the world, Alstom said, noting that it was adapted to the capital’s climate and elevation.
Its 34 trains will each have four modules and seven pairs of doors. Each train will be able to carry a total of 272 passengers at a time, 88 of whom will be able to sit.
The construction of the trains should begin in 2025 in La Pocatière, with a view to delivery in 2027 and commissioning in 2029. The most recent estimates of the project estimate its costs at nearly $4 billion.
Remember that the route of the future tramway must link the Cap-Rouge sector to Estimauville (Beauport) over a distance of around twenty kilometres. Part of the route will be underground, in the area of Parliament Hill and the Saint-Roch district.
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