Future of the Eastern REM | The talks should soon “accelerate”

Nearly a month after the withdrawal of CDPQ Infra from the Eastern Metropolitan Express Network (REM), leaving the latter under the control of Quebec and Montreal, the discussions concerning the future of the light rail network could soon “se ‘accelerate’. The preferred mode – underground, on the ground or elevated – will be debated in the coming weeks.

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

Since the announcement of a new “work team” on the Eastern REM, it is already certain that the section of the city center which was to be entirely aerial will not be built. In recent weeks, a meeting has already taken place between the Ministère des Transports, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and the City.

According to our sources, a next meeting is scheduled for the summer. At the ARTM, spokesperson Simon Charbonneau specifies that “things will speed up when we receive all the studies and contracts carried out by CDPQ Infra”. “But we are not starting from nothing on our side, since we already have a lot of data,” continues Mr. Charbonneau, citing analyzes of travel needs, planning and diagnosis of the territory that have already been carried out.

During the next meeting, one of the priorities will be to address the “nature of the route”, which will be “quickly at the heart of the work of the experts”, adds the ARTM spokesperson.

“No option” for the privileged mode is currently ruled out, revealed Mr. Legault a few weeks ago, admitting that “the downtown section, [à l’ouest de la rue] Dickson, has no acceptability”.

CDPQ Infra, for its part, favored the aerial mode because it was less costly and above all more profitable. The subsidiary of the Caisse de depot et placement is currently building the first phase of the REM according to this mainly aerial formula, in the west, allowing a higher speed without a driver.

The underground first in Mercier-Est

In the office of Mayor Valérie Plante, we favor for the moment “the underground option in the Mercier-Est sector”, because it “crosses residential areas”, says press officer Catherine Cadotte. According to our sources, the Plante administration is not closed to aerial sections in other sectors, as long as they “integrate well into their environment” and that they receive the support of the local population.

“The good urban integration of the project is essential. […] We want to ensure that the best options are assessed. It’s a good thing to see all the parties taking a stand to develop public transit,” continued Ms.^me Cadotte, welcoming the debates on the future of the REM de l’Est a few months before the provincial campaign.

According to our information, Quebec plans to go there in two phases for the new REM de l’Est. The connection with the green line would be at Assomption station, from where the east and north branches would then leave.

The eastern branch, towards Pointe-aux-Trembles and Cégep Marie-Victorin, would be built first. The northern branch, towards Laval and Lanaudière, depends on the results of future studies.

At the STM, spokesperson Amélie Régis argues that this scenario of connection to the Assomption station “will avoid cannibalizing ridership on the green line while contributing to increasing the attractiveness of the public transit offer, in a logic of complementarity”. “Even before the pandemic, the green line had residual capacity. Various measures could make it possible to increase the performance of the line, for example the optimized frequency of passage or the increase in the electrical capacity”, adds Mr.^me Régis, for whom the stowage will also be essential with the rapid service by Pie-IX bus and the extension of the blue line, whose budget of 6.4 billion was completed in March.

A precise plan within six months

In interview with The Press, the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, explains that the work of designing the future network will be done in “partnership”. The Eastern REM proposed by CDPQ Infra had an estimated bill of $10 billion, but no budget has yet been put forward for the improved version of the project. “We are all partners, as much the STM, the ARTM as the MTQ [ministère des Transports du Québec]to be able to deliver by the end of the year a complete game plan on the improvement of the network a little more on the north shore, L’Assomption and others, and also the portion that brings us to Laval”, he said.

The director general of Trajectoire Québec, Sarah V. Doyon, calls on the new work team to “show transparency” with the population. “It was less the case with CDPQ Infra. The project must also be carried out quickly. We must adopt mechanisms so as not to lose another 10 years. The fact that we have changed the ball carrier will certainly imply a little delay, but it must not be counted in years, ”she said.

Transport planning specialist at the University of Montreal, Pierre Barrieau, expects a substantial delay. “I think the new committee will be able to go to the BAPE [Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement] in three and a half years. And I could believe in a construction start in six years. It’s an eight-year project, so it takes us to 2036, unlike 2029, which was the initial deadline, ”he concludes.

With Maxime Bergeron, The Press