Built specifically to accommodate electric buses, the Bellechasse bus garage will not ultimately be able to accommodate them for at least a few years. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) says it must do additional work in terms of safety and technology on this site which is already experiencing its share of delays.
“We had to question the prioritization of the Bellechasse center to take into account the overall electrification strategy which provides for the upcoming receipt of 186 electric buses in a short time frame,” states the STM, in a statement in reaction to a report from Radio-Canada.
The carrier then argues that as “charging solution technologies were in their infancy at the time of planning”, it “felt it responsible not to rush into a hasty choice in terms of technologies”.
“We made the choice to gradually electrify our transportation centers to adapt to the electrification industry, an industry that is constantly innovating and evolving. […] Electrification technologies have evolved greatly,” explains company spokesperson Kevin Bilodeau.
A new sprinkler system
In the short term, other fire safety challenges arise. Among other things, a sprinkler system “specially adapted to the fire risks” associated with electric batteries will be installed. And beyond the sprinkler system, a smoke extraction system to evacuate smoke from underground parking lots must be put in place.
In short, the buses passing through the Bellechasse center will be hybrid or run on diesel for at least a few more years. According to our information, receiving electric vehicles will not be possible before 2026, at least.
In the immediate future, the STM says its “priority is to put this transport center into operation so that it can be used to deliver our bus service, quite simply”. “Bellechasse will be electrified in a later phase. This planning is still in progress,” notes Kevin Bilodeau on this subject.
The latest news is that the STM’s Bellechasse garage is expected to cost $584 million, which is more than twice as expensive as initially expected. The project, which began in 2019, was originally scheduled to be completed in 2022, but several problems delayed its delivery. To date, construction of the building should be completed in the fall of 2024, at least “substantially,” Mr. Bilodeau cautiously asserts.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The construction site in August 2023.
It is then from this moment that tests and the commissioning of the equipment “will begin and will last until 2025”, he adds.
The opposition does not let up
In opposition to city hall, the mayor of Montreal North and critic of public transport, Christine Black, did not fail to denounce on Tuesday the “amateurism” of the City of Montreal in the construction file from the Bellechasse garage.
“While the estimated cost of the project has more than doubled since Valérie Plante came to power in 2017, we wonder if it will not now triple, or even quadruple. The electrification of a bus fleet cannot be done simply. It must be planned in advance,” lamented M.me Black.
The latter maintains that “the Plante administration unfortunately fell into a novice’s trap: it announced with great fanfare the electrification of the bus fleet without properly planning the necessary infrastructure and maintenance.”
A few months ago, last November, the general director of the STM, Marie-Claude Léonard, indicated that the cost of electrification for the Bellechasse transport center is still being evaluated. “We aim to come back to you in 2024 with this amount,” she said, ensuring however that the goal remains “to stay within the envelope of 584 million”.
Redesign of buses in the southwest
The STM announced Tuesday new bus service in the LaSalle, Lachine, Le Sud-Ouest and Verdun sectors. Around thirty lines will be put into service or modified from August 26. Two new local lines will be created to ensure accessibility within the neighborhoods themselves, namely lines 38 De l’Église and 114 Angrignon. Around twenty other lines will be “modified in terms of route, time slot or frequency”, including three which will become frequent at peak, namely the 107 Verdun, the 112 Airlie and the 496 Express Victoria. Seven lines will be abolished, their route having to be taken over by other lines.