Several users of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) remained stuck in trains stopped between two stations for more than 30 minutes on Friday morning, due to a new breakdown that occurred during rush hour on the section linking the city center to the South Shore of Montreal.
On social networks, customer anger was palpable to say the least. Some of them even claimed to have filed a complaint with CDPQ Infra due to the management of the situation, deploring that no information was transmitted to them in real time.
“We have been stopped for 28 minutes between Île-des-Sœurs station and Central station. No messages, no support, no one to help. What do we do ? “, for example, asked a user on a Facebook group bringing together several regular REM commuters.
Aside from a message on In the REM itself, a message spoke of a “technical problem”, but most users claim that no other details were given to them, even though they were forced to stay inside the train.
“I miss my direct bus to Montreal,” added another user, visibly irritated by the situation, in reference to the exo and Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) buses which can no longer cross the Samuel-Bridge. From Champlain since the establishment of the REM.
Others complained about the long queues that had formed to board the buses deployed urgently, as required by the REM’s backup plan in the event of a breakdown.
“Too sensitive” detection
Called to explain, the manager of the REM, CDPQ Infra, clarified on Friday that an “emergency brake” had been activated on a train between Central Station and L’Île-des-Sœurs.
Result: “three cars were stopped for around 35 minutes,” confirms a spokesperson for the organization, Michelle Lamarche, by email.
It was an intervention agent on board the first car who was finally able to get the train moving again, says the subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt. “Service returned at 8:06 a.m. The backup plan was activated. Buses are always available to users,” added M.me Lamarche.
According to it, the emergency brake was activated “due to an overly sensitive detection system”. “The REM is still in its break-in period. Some systems are still subject to adjustments since commissioning,” she explained.