The subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, CDPQ Infra, is withdrawing from the project to extend the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) on the South Shore, a route along Taschereau Boulevard which has been under study for several years.
“A project on the South Shore would require mobilizing teams that are not currently available,” confirmed Monday the media director for CDPQ Infra, Michelle Lamarche, citing in particular the importance of ensuring the reliability of the South Shore antenna of the REM and the work carried out for the other antennas of the REM which will be tested this spring.
The new study project in the capital, to replace the old version of the tramway, also weighed in the balance, according to Mme Lamarche.
“In all cases, the working parameters, such as city development plans and the economic context, have changed in recent years, and the studies that had been carried out would need to be updated,” he said. she added, thus confirming the information first reported by Radio-Canada.
This is a significant turnaround in the matter. Monday morning, the president and CEO of CPDQ Infra, Jean-Marc Arbaud, nevertheless affirmed that the REM Rive-Sud project was still being developed by CDPQ Infra. “We are going to have a meeting to take stock soon with the government and give the main parameters that had been looked at in terms of corridors,” he said in an interview with host Patrick Masbourian.
A crucial meeting on Friday
CDPQ Infra has been studying the structuring mobility project for the South Shore of Montreal, along Taschereau Boulevard, for more than three years now. Mayor Fournier had also shown signs of impatience in August, repeating that she had been waiting for news from the Caisse for a year and a half on this subject. According to preliminary plans, this east-west extension was to connect the Longueuil metro station to La Prairie, connecting to the current REM network at Panama station in Brossard.
Everything was decided last Friday, during a meeting at the end of which Longueuil, Brossard and Boucherville asked the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, to remove the files from the hands of the Caisse de dépôt. Mr. Arbaud was present.
According to our information, no progress was then on the agenda. The cities have deplored the “lack of collaboration” from the Caisse since the start of the project. It was ultimately the Caisse de dépôt itself that withdrew from the project shortly after.
The mayors of the three municipalities now hope that the project will fall into the hands of the future transport agency supposed to reduce delays and costs. Quebec hopes to table the bill that would create this agency next February, with a view to adoption in June, with the aim of having the agency in place by September.
The government is also delighted with this wish from the cities, even if the departure of CDPQ Infra from the project is not welcomed with enthusiasm. On the island of Montreal, The Press also recently revealed that the government plans for the tramway in the east of Montreal – which replaced the 36 billion version of the REM de l’Est – to be the first project of the future agency.
A “priority” project for Quebec
In Minister Guilbault’s office, the REM extension project in Longueuil is cautiously indicated as a “priority”.
“We indeed share the desire of Mayors Fournier and Assad to provide the South Shore with a structuring public transport project,” it was indicated. We will continue to collaborate with our partners on this project. »
The mayors of Longueuil and Brossard, Catherine Fournier and Doreen Assaad, confirmed the news on Monday through a joint press release. “Last Friday, we met with the leaders of CDPQ Infra to take stock of the planning of the project and noted that its implementation should be entrusted to the future government entity currently being developed by Minister Geneviève Guilbault and her team,” they wrote.
“Following the meeting, we therefore officially called on the government to entrust the mandate of the east-west structuring link of the South Shore to this new entity in order to accelerate its realization in consultation with the cities, including, at first chef, Longueuil and Brossard. »
This is the second setback in the same day for CDPQ Infra, which was called to order Monday morning by Quebec regarding the multiple breakdowns that affected the REM in recent days.
“To cause a modal shift, our public transport networks must work,” insisted Minister Guilbault. The problems encountered over the past six months must be taken seriously, and we must ensure that users are well informed. »
The story so far
- October 2020: CDPQ Infra is mandated by Quebec to study the establishment of an east-west electrified transport network on the South Shore, including the Longueuil metro and the Taschereau Boulevard routes.
- February 2022: “Preliminary” studies are being carried out by CDPQ Infra to add this section, says François Legault’s government.
- August 2023: During the REM inauguration, Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier shared some details on the route of the future South Shore REM. She also claims to have had no news from CDPQ Infra.
- January 2024: CDPQ Infra states in a press release that it is continuing its studies on the project, but is withdrawing at the end of the month. The three mayors of the cities concerned hope that the project will henceforth come under the responsibility of the future transport agency of the government of Quebec.