In addition to technical glitches which can still be attributed to a running-in period, the REM has two big problems: its monopoly and its responsibility.
The monopoly is part of the exorbitant privileges that were granted by Philippe Couillard’s government to CDPQ Infra, the subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement which is building the REM.
At the time, we were looking for an operator for the railway tracks intended for public transport on the new Samuel-De Champlain bridge. But CDPQ Infra demanded a monopoly. There was a bus lane on the old bridge, but there was no question of there being one on the new one.
Worse still, CDPQ Infra also demanded that all transport companies on the South Shore have the obligation to transfer their buses to REM stations so that it becomes the only way to cross the river by public transport. Secret deals that only saw the light thanks to a leak to the media.
For economists, a monopoly is bad for everyone, except the person who owns it, of course. For public transport users, this is just as true.
For many people, the obligation to rebate means additional delays which mean that they will prefer to continue using their car.
Even for REM users, the monopoly is a bad thing. Because there are no other options if the REM is down. Except for waiting for buses that have to be deployed urgently, which is not always easy, as we saw recently.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The fall of ice on the tracks crossing the Champlain Bridge recently forced yet another interruption of REM service.
When we see all this, we are not so surprised to read in the newspapers that public transport users have decided to buy a car, as the REM service does not live up to their expectations.
The other problem is that of accountability. Almost since the start of the work, CDPQ Infra has refused to assume its responsibilities and placed the blame on everyone except itself.
In two surreal interviews on the morning shows on Monday, the CEO of CDPQ Infra, Jean-Marc Arbaud, threw blame everywhere. “We are not satisfied with the performance of our subcontractors,” he said at Paul Arcand’s microphone.
But who chose, signed contracts and paid the subcontractors, if not CDPQ Infra? So, who should be responsible, if not CDPQ Infra?
An example: snow removal. In most municipalities in Quebec, it is carried out by subcontractors. But if there is a mix-up, who will have to explain? The mayor, of course. The same standard should apply to CDPQ Infra.
In this same interview, Mr. Arbaud blamed the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority for not being able to provide him with buses at short notice after a REM breakdown and held the Signature sur le Saint-Laurent Group (SSL), which manages the Champlain Bridge, responsible for another service outage, which would have been caused by an unscheduled icebreaking operation.
Except that SSL maintains that no manual icebreaking operations took place that day. The sleet, formed as a result of the freezing rain that fell earlier, simply began to melt. A natural cause, therefore, which can occur regularly in winter.
So much for the REM – or rather the little part of REM which is already in service. For the rest of the project in Montreal, we see that the delays are significant, in particular for serving Montreal-Trudeau airport, which will not be ready until 2027.
But we must also ask ourselves questions about the real usefulness of CDPQ Infra in the other missions entrusted to it by the government of Quebec for other public transport projects.
We learned Monday evening that CDPQ Infra was simply withdrawing from the structuring public transport project on the South Shore of Montreal for which it had had the mandate for more than three years.
In fact, we learned from the mayors of Longueuil and Brossard, Catherine Fournier and Doreen Assaad, that CDPQ Infra had withdrawn from the REM project on the Taschereau Boulevard route.
In fact, after three years where the mayors explained that they did not want an elevated REM on concrete pillars, like what is currently in service or under construction, it was still the one and only option that their offered CDPQ Infra.
In short, CDPQ Infra only has one product to sell, REM as it currently stands. If the cities have other visions, she will simply withdraw. Take it or leave it.
Still this same version of the REM had been proposed for the east of Montreal before being abandoned “because it was a project that was going to the wall”, according to the expression of Mayor Valérie Plante.
We can only hope that CDPQ Infra will not offer the same thing to Quebec City in place of the tramway.
Calling all
REM breakdowns have increased in recent times. Are you a frequent light rail user? We would like to know your strategies for avoiding travel delays. Do you take your car or the metro more often at Longueuil station? Do you work from home more often?