Aware of the major “change in habits” represented by the addition of the Metropolitan Express Network (REM) to the metropolitan public transit network, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) and CDPQ Infra presented a range of measures on Monday to facilitate the transition, including an “open house” operation for the general public on the weekend preceding the commissioning of the REM, on July 31.
“What says new transport network says, and we are well aware of it, change of habits”, acknowledged the spokesperson for CDPQ Infra, Jean-Vincent Lacroix, at a press conference.
Changes in habits have been at the heart of the process for a very long time, argued Philippe Dubé, senior director, relations with partners, of the ARTM.
Guessing that many of the general public will want to discover this new fully automated metro, CDPQ Infra has planned an open house operation on Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The public will be able to use this first antenna from its five stations, between downtown Montreal and the Brossard station on the South Shore.
From a fare perspective, July 31 will be a transition day for holders of a monthly pass, who will be able to use it on board the REM on the last day of the month. From 1er August, users will have to obtain an all-mode pass to travel on the REM network, both on the island of Montreal and on the South Shore.
Starting July 31, the express bus lines of the Réseau transport de Longueuil (RTL) that previously went directly to downtown Montreal will stop at a REM station on the South Shore for passengers to continue their journey on this new network.
Only RTL line 742 will continue to cross the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge during the REM’s first month of service, at the rate of the new network.
Although REM trains run without a driver, a customer service team sporting a bright green jacket will be present in the stations and on the trains.
With Henri Ouellette-Vézina