Scheduled for October 31, the submission of the report from the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) on the Eastern Structuring Project (PSE) — formerly known as the Eastern REM — will finally be a few weeks away. delay.
Highly anticipated, this report intended for the government of Quebec must include new recommendations for a transport project which could be carried out at a more reasonable cost than the 36 billion bill put forward last summer. The committee led by the ARTM undertook to examine different scenarios, including that of a tramway for the east of Montreal.
Remember that last July, this committee proposed a light train built underground over its entire route. The high bill of nearly 36 billion had startled observers. Prime Minister François Legault himself admitted to having swallowed his coffee wrong when he learned of the cost of the project. This planned not only an underground route, but also an extension towards Rivière-des-Prairies and Laval for the northern branch and to Pointe-aux-Trembles and Charlemagne for the eastern branch.
At the request of Quebec, the committee went back to work to examine several modes of transport, including that of a surface tramway, as well as different routes and phasing in order to spread the work over time.
Light still green in Quebec
On Friday, the ARTM did not want to give details on the solutions studied. As for the report, it should be submitted during the month of November. “We are awaiting additional information from external consultants in the coming weeks to finalize the report,” indicated Simon Charbonneau, director of communications for the ARTM.
In the office of the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, we continue to want to move forward with a transport project for the East. “Our commitment to providing a structuring transportation service for the east of Montreal is firm,” said Maxime Roy, director of communications in Minister Guilbault’s office. “We want to develop a project that meets needs, at a responsible cost. It is imperative to have accurate and proven data, which is why we agreed to the request [de report] “, underlined Maxime Roy, director of communications in the minister’s office in an email.
Remember that in the spring of 2022, Quebec decided to withdraw the REM de l’Est project from the hands of CDPQ Infra and entrust it to the ARTM. The government then requested the addition of sections towards Lanaudière and Laval.