(Montreal) The final stage of the preparation that precedes the commissioning of the Metropolitan Express Network (REM) begins this Wednesday between Brossard stations in Montérégie and Central Station in Montreal.
The prime contractor for this major public infrastructure project, CDPQ Infra, specifies that this final phase, called dry running, consists of simulating the service of the future light rail line, without passengers. Over the next few days, empty REM cars will run with frequencies similar to the future service.
To reach this final stage, the teams have completed various decisive milestones in the last 12 months. This included the complete electrification of the 16.6 km of the Rive-Sud branch, the crossing of the Samuel-De Champlain bridge and a third consecutive winter of intensive testing.
Depending on how the dry run unfolds over the next few weeks, CDPQ Infra will confirm the official date for the commissioning of the REM between the Brossard and Central Station stations.
The REM provides for the development of a total network of 26 stations which aims to link, over 67 kilometers, downtown Montreal, the South Shore, the West Island, the North Shore and Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport.
It is expected that the REM cars will be in service every day, 20 hours a day, and they will be connected to the three main lines of the Montreal metro.