The news of the last few days concerning the REM de l’Est project has not been without twists and turns. The issues raised are fundamental to the proper development of public transit. However, this raises an even greater issue: that of the necessary coordination of the various networks to ensure the reliability and efficiency of services throughout Greater Montreal.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
From the outset, it is essential to remember that users of the exo5 Mascouche line are already affected by the arrival of the REM in the greater Montreal area. Ironically, the Mascouche line, also called the Train de l’Est, had been created to better meet the public transit needs of the citizens of the northern crown and the east of the island of Montreal. That was eight years ago, in 2014. 1
The Mascouche line slowed down
Until 2019, users of the northern crown benefited from a structuring infrastructure and direct access to the city center. The growth experienced by this line year after year was first radically slowed down by the start of work allowing the construction of the REM, which then caused major delays on this line and on the Deux-Montagnes line.
In May 2020, the complete closure of the Mont-Royal tunnel put a second brake on the brakes by significantly increasing the travel time for users. The attractiveness of this line took for its cold. And the annual traffic data bears witness to this.
Annual ridership of the Mascouche line
- 2014: 104,000
- 2015: 1,319,000
- 2016: 1,650,300
- 2017: 1,822,500
- 2018: 1,852,300
- 2019: 1,763,800
- 2020: 390,000*
- 2021: approximately 110,000* (*pandemic year)
Until the western branch of the REM comes into service, which will take place in 2024 at the earliest, customers of the exo5 Mascouche line must opt for an unattractive connection in the north of the city or an even less attractive journey time. to downtown Montreal. No improvement in public transit service for customers in these municipalities is planned. Consequently, no one will be surprised not to find the pre-pandemic ridership rate on the exo5 Mascouche line, despite the lifting of the telework obligation.
Limited solutions
With the addition of two new branches of the REM to the east as presented in the second phase of the project, it seems difficult to envisage the maintenance in parallel of another structuring mode of transport in this same axis.
Solutions are limited to ensure the future of the exo5 Mascouche line. Will the users of the North Crown and those near the existing stations in the east of Montreal remain public transit users or will they be discouraged by the addition of connections?
Gaining new users in public transit is essential to sustainable mobility… but we still have to make sure to retain current users.
Our concerns are not just about infrastructure or rolling stock that could become underutilized. They are really centered on the users of this line who have adopted it since 2015 and on the quality of the mobility services that will be offered to them. As things stand, the exo5 Mascouche line could be largely abandoned by users long before the arrival of the REM de l’Est, reducing to nothing a line whose collective investment represents $750 million.
The perfect solution to save this line does not exist. Nevertheless, a new turn of the wheel to improve the REM de l’Est project by taking into account the existing transport environment is necessary. Exo and its experts would be present to participate in this reflection. Citizens and users of the Mascouche line deserve urgent attention.