Move over RER, Montr\u00e9al\u2019s new fully automated R\u00e9seau express m\u00e9tropolitain (REM)\u2019s first segment has opened. Once fully completed, the REM line will link directly across Montr\u00e9al Island north, south, and west. Essentially, a Regional Express Rail (RER) line, similar to those in Paris (but not as far reaching), and London\u2019s Crossrail, but at a smaller scale. Closely spaced stations in the city centre, free interchanges with the M\u00e9tro lines, and mostly suburban rail station spacing use the similar template.<\/p>\n
Montr\u00e9al, Canada\u2019s second largest city is growing quickly, but it\u2019s M\u00e9tro network hasn\u2019t been expanded in 16 years. Furthermore, the city is situated on a large island, one of a number in the middle of the St Lawrence River. As Montr\u00e9al filled with residents and suburbs, increasing numbers of newcomers chose to live on cheaper land north or south of Montr\u00e9al Island. Hence more road bridges were constructed, but are almost always bottlenecks. In Montr\u00e9al traffic, everybody hurts \u2013 to drive is to face a daily reckoning, especially crossing any of the city\u2019s many bridges, which always seem to have at least one lane undergoing some kind of maintenance or repair. Often at rush hour, drivers cannot get there from here.<\/p>\n
With aviation demand increasing once again, a rapid rail line to serve A\u00e9roport International Montr\u00e9al-Trudeau (n\u00e9e Montr\u00e9al Dorval Airport) was also needed. As was a second rapid rail connection to the South Shore of the St Lawrence River, which has large suburbs and undeveloped land where much of the region\u2019s growth is occurring.<\/p>\n
Paris was the initial inspiration for Montr\u00e9al\u2019s M\u00e9tro, assisting with its design, and providing the idea of using rubber tyred cars to allow steeper inclines before and after stations. This inspiration has continued through the decades \u2013 Montr\u00e9al and REM use the same Transilien card readers as developed and used in Paris, the Calypso smartcard fare system. As Montr\u00e9al experiences heavy snowfall every winter, their M\u00e9tro needed to be completely underground. This also required the construction of expensive tunnels for the M\u00e9tro to extend off the island of Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n
However, as further rapid transit connections are needed to link the island to its suburban shores to relieve the pressure on road bridges, a more cost effective mode was needed. One that could also take advantage of existing railway infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The Caisse de d\u00e9p\u00f4t et placement du Qu\u00e9bec (CDPQ) \u2013 the Qu\u00e9bec Deposit and Investment Fund persuaded the Province of Qu\u00e9bec in 2015 that it could design, develop, construct, and operate a R\u00e9seau express m\u00e9tropolitain (REM) \u2013 Regional Express Metro in English. It would cross the city to connect to its South Shore, Pierre Trudeau International Airport, the suburban island of Laval, and the north shore of the St Lawrence River.<\/p>\n
CDPQ is the province of Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s pension fund, established to pay for its future obligations. It combines the Qu\u00e9bec equivalent of Ontario\u2019s Teacher\u2019s Fund and OMERS municipal employee pension funds, plus civil servant pensions, into one enormous pot of money. CDPQ holds Qu\u00e9bec pensions and plays an active role in Qu\u00e9bec economic development. It holds $420B CAD (\u00a3270B) in assets, of which around 30%, $78B, resides in Qu\u00e9bec,<\/p>\n
CDPQ\u2019s Infra division (hereafter referred to as CDPQ) had successfully constructed and operated Vancouver\u2019s Canada Line in a pressed time frame to open in time for the city\u2019s 2010 Winter Olympic Games. This used automated light metro trains to provide frequent service between the downtown peninsula, central Vancouver, the southern suburb of Richmond, and Vancouver International Airport hitherto unserved by urban rail.<\/p>\n
REM will be the Montr\u00e9al\u2019s first new urban rapid transit line in three decades, and the first rapid transit expansion since 2007. The initial 17 km, five station segment to the south shore will transport passengers three times faster than by private vehicle. CDPQ Infra\u2019s goal is to get passengers downtown, or back to the suburbs, within 40 minutes.<\/p>\n
They also noted that the Deux-Montagnes commuter line which traverses the double track tunnel under Mont-Royal was a bit under utilised, running approximately 61 commuter trains per weekday. This was mainly a peak hour service, with poor off peak frequencies. It was also utilised by four VIA Rail \u2018Adventure\u2019 trains to and from Northern Qu\u00e9bec a week.<\/p>\n
REM is not CDPQ Infra\u2019s first foray into public transport investment \u2013 it has a number of rail transportation projects that it has undertaken or acquired:<\/p>\n
Construction lead on Vancouver\u2019s Canada Line<\/p>\n
Current Eurostar part owner<\/p>\n
Construction lead on the Sydney Metro<\/p>\n
Generally, most city and regional governments nowadays spend most of their limited budgets on operations. So they have little funds, or in house expertise left, for developing new projects or schemes.<\/p>\n
The CDPQ Infra approach harkens back to many cities\u2019 original means of constructing rapid transit \u2013 private capital to build public infrastructure. London\u2019s, New York\u2019s, and many other cities\u2019 original financing method of private companies scoping out their own lines, route alignment, station location, and ridership estimates et cetera, and applied for permission to build a line.<\/p>\n
Numerous cities have experimented with Public Private Partnerships (PPP or 3P), called Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in the UK, which is an intermediate step toward full private involvement. However, London was burnt by the Metronet PFI fiasco, and no other British public tranport agency has gone that route since. Notwithstanding, many North American and Australian cities are still using PPPs, but with mixed results.<\/p>\n
However, this is reminiscent of what happens in third world cities like Bangkok, in which private companies propose directly to government they can build lines, doing everything from concept, stations, etc. In most cases, there is little government or local expertise do draw upon in these disciplines. Bangkok is one of the worst examples, having four (4) different rapid rail lines constructed by four different companies, but of different technologies, and without much consideration given to planning a cohesive, well integrated network with in station line transfers, unified ticketing, standard wayfinding, and network maps.<\/p>\n
In Montr\u00e9al\u2019s case, the CDPQ Infra proposed to the city and to the province of Qu\u00e9bec to build the REM line, and was given carte blanche to build it as they saw fit. As a result of this arrangement, the Qu\u00e9bec government would receive a new public transport network without being liable for budget overruns, whilst the pension fund is guaranteed a set annual return, and further develops its expertise and accomplishments to sell to other cities. This was an irresistible offer, and Qu\u00e9bec gave the CDPQ the green light in 2016.<\/p>\n
CDPQ contracted Montr\u00e9al based international consulting and engineering group SYSTRA to design the line, stations, the CBTC signalling, and specify the rolling stock. This was performed by their engineers who had worked on RATP (R\u00e9gie autonome des transports parisiens), TfL\u2019s equivalent in Paris), and working for their REM project by defining the design and performance criteria for the new network.<\/p>\n
In particular, Systra had won the large contract for the Grand Paris Express, Europe\u2019s largest infrastructure project, to design and construct the 43km-long M\u00e9tro lines M15 Est and M15 Ouest. The work includes program definition, tender management, and construction.<\/p>\n
The big local criticism of the REM plan is that there is no transparency to the details. The route alignment and service frequencies were determined by CDPQ Infra, not by the city\u2019s Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de transport de Montr\u00e9al (STM), nor the regional transport agency Autorit\u00e9 r\u00e9gionale <\/em>de transport <\/em>m\u00e9tropolitain (ARTM). The initial REM section will serve a number of ridership generators and shopping areas, despite being in a highway median on the south shore, terminating at the large Dix-30 outdoor mall at the interchange of Highways 10 and 30.<\/p>\n Critical for local political buy in to the REM project was the addition of the following stations, due to public pressure, to interchange with the M\u00e9tro network:<\/p>\n \u00c9douard-Montpetit on the M\u00e9tro Blue Line.<\/p>\n McGill on the M\u00e9tro Green line.<\/p>\n In addition, similar pressure was later brought on CDPQ to add Peel Bassin\u2013Bernard Landry station to serve the large Griffintown condo neighbourhood growing south of downtown.<\/p>\n Whilst these new stations added to the cost, they were much appreciated by city politicians, local residents, and transit advocates. The interchanges will provide much needed rapid transit network connections.<\/p>\n Mont Royal is the northern barrier to downtown Montr\u00e9al which is sandwiched between the St Laurence River to the south. This is the same Mont Royal with its glowing red cross atop that was observed by the R.100 on its voyage from Britain in 1930<\/a>.<\/p>\n To their great credit, CDPQ Infra designed an interchange with the existing \u00c9douard-Montpetit Blue Line M\u00e9tro station is just under the north face of the mountain. However, the existing Mont Royal tunnel is 70m (220 feet) below it, so a large shaft needed to be blasted down into the granite to allow passengers to access and transfer with the REM station<\/a>. This shaft will house the elevators and emergency stairways, as well as power cables, ventilation, communications etc to the REM platforms. <\/p>\n However, due to the location of the two lines, the new REM interchange station had to be sited only 5 metres from a school building. The granite needed to be blasted 3-4 times a day, week in, week out, to meet the deadline. Initially there was large-scale opposition of parents and residents to the idea of blasting so close to the school on weekdays. Many in the neighbourhood are well off and as anywhere, exert some power.<\/p>\n CDPQ heard the concerns and emotions of the parents and neighbours:<\/p>\n Air quality<\/p>\n Vibration damaging water pipes<\/p>\n Trucks removing 70 000 m3 of spoil<\/p>\n As a result, the Caisse:<\/p>\n Made the air quality measurements available in real time.<\/p>\n Made vibration and noise measurements available.<\/p>\n Added pedestrian crossings to manage trucks and traffic.<\/p>\n Only scheduled one blast during school hours, timed with the recess siren at 11.45, when the kids are already excited.<\/p>\n CDPQ Infra then invited a local TV station to cover the first blast live. The heavy sound deadening blankets laid on the ground barely moved, and no blast dust escaped. Once the shaft was completed, CDPQ Infra excavated a large REM station cavern, which can be seen and experienced in this excellent video<\/a>.<\/p>\n REM will be a fully automated metro, at the highest Grade of Automation 4 (GoA4) operation (without a driver on board), with platform doors at all stations. The fleet consists of 106 cars in permanently coupled pairs, 80m long per pair. Splitting and joining cars between peak and off peak will be performed at branch termini to reduce car-km.<\/p>\n Planned operation is 5 minute off peak frequency (12 trains per hour (tph) with 4 tph per northern branch) with 2 car trains, increasing to 2.5 minute peak frequency (24 tph, with 8 tph per northern branch)with 4 car trains. The system has the ability to increase frequency to every 90 seconds (40 tph).<\/p>\n One out of four trains will go to the West Island, one will run to the airport, and two of the four will head for Deux-Montagnes, with the following frequencies:<\/p>\n Between Rive-Sud and Bois-Franc (core trunk)<\/strong>: 2.5 min during rush hour, 5 min off-peak<\/p>\n Between Bois-Franc and A\u00e9roport Montr\u00e9al-Trudeau (branch A2)<\/strong>:10 min during rush hour, 15 min off-peak<\/p>\n Between Bois-Franc and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue (branch A3)<\/strong>: 10 min during rush hour, 15 min off-peak<\/p>\n Between Bois-Franc and Deux-Montagnes (branch A4)<\/strong>: 5 min during rush hour, 15 min off-peak<\/p>\n REM has designed the ability to run additional trains as needed for sporting events and festivals, thanks to its Alstom Urbalis 400 CBTC moving block signalling system.<\/p>\n Montr\u00e9al has one of the largest underground cities in the world, a function of its cold winter climate. Called the R\u00c9SO \u2013 a play on the French word for network, \u2018r\u00e9seau\u2019, it spans much of downtown, with over 33 km of corridors and tunnels. Connecting office towers, chic department stores, underground and multi-storey tower malls, as well as several M\u00e9tro and rail stations, it is especially popular whenever the weather turns unpleasant. A 1976 television advert campaign Il fait beau dans l\u2019m\u00e9tro<\/em> (The weather\u2019s fine in the M\u00e9tro) was memorable for locals for decades \u2013 it combines the sentiments of London Transport\u2019s It Is Cooler Below<\/em> and It Is Warmer Down Below <\/em>posters into a single, simpler slogan.<\/p>\n This writer was invited on a tour of the excavation of McGill REM station<\/a> in August 2022, and described the experience as well as the history of the century old Mont-Royal tunnel that was upgraded for REM use.<\/p>\n There have been some large pension funds, such as the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), that have been financing rail transport infrastructure, as a safe investment with promising and consistent returns. In this case, these funds are merely financiers.<\/p>\n Qu\u00e9bec agreed to the Caisse de d\u00e9p\u00f4t et placement du Qu\u00e9bec (CDPQ) \u2013 the Qu\u00e9bec Deposit and Investment Fund \u2013 initiating and leading the design, development, construction, and operation of the R\u00e9seau Express M\u00e9tropolitain (REM). Basically, the province has been almost completely hands off on the REM project, with the Caisse securing a 99 year lease, well beyond the typical 25 to 35 year concession for a Design\u2013Build\u2013Finance\u2013Operate\u2013Maintain (DBFOM) contract. Even after that 99 year term, CDPQ Infra may continue to own the line. This has been difficult to confirm, as details of the agreement with CDPQ Infra has been shielded from the public due to commercial confidentiality, of course.<\/p>\n What is known is that CDQP will charge the Qu\u00e9bec government a set fee every year, subject to some allowance for inflation, ridership etc. But the public does not know the amount or terms. CDPQ Infra has publicly stated that it expects an 8-9% return on its REM investment, although with the unexpected delays due to Covid, supply chain disruption, unexploded dynamite in the Mont-Royal Tunnel etc, it is not clear if the agreement has changed, or if the province will pick up the tab.<\/p>\n Provincial and local governments will provide operating subsidies, as with any rapid transit line, but these will also ensure that the CDPQ earns its contractual return. One of the few details that have been publicised about the deal is that the pension fund manager will receive 72 cents per passenger-kilometre travelled on the line.<\/p>\n To provide some perspective, Milan\u2019s M4 Metro line Public-Private Partnership (PPP or P3), has a more traditional 35 year DBFOM concession, which requires the city to pay a flat \u20ac1 per rider (regardless of the distance traveled) with a guaranteed minimum of 85 million riders\/year (the concessionaire take no ridership risk unlike CDPQ). You can see some of the Montr\u00e9al M\u00e9tro and Milan Metro\u2019s outstanding design standards in our recent article. Unfortunately, the REM will have replicated, modular stations with little colour or individual design flair for the most part, to keep costs down.<\/p>\n The Qu\u00e9bec government has greatly assisted CDPQ, including providing expropriation rights and stickhandling the project through some political and public opposition. As well as overcoming the provincial environmental review board assessing a negative impact of the line.<\/p>\n It is the desire to control as much of the development, construction, and operation of this scheme that likely propelled the CDPQ Infra to propose the REM. With governments merely responsible for regulatory aspects, and some aspects of integration with the existing M\u00e9tro and commuter rail networks, it provides the Caisse with much more flexibility as to where and how they would build and operate their line.<\/p>\n Given that REM will also stimulate densification of neighbourhoods, greatly expand the rapid transit network, and upgrade the Deux-Montagnes commuter rail line to a much higher capacity urban rail line, the City of Montr\u00e9al and Province of Qu\u00e9bec have welcomed CDPQ Infra. To the transit riding public, this is a much needed expansion of the rapid transit network, the first new line since the Blue Line opening in 1986. Since then, the public has heard and read about new M\u00e9tro proposals, but bickering between city and province, Mayors and challengers, meant little was constructed but a short extension north into Laval.<\/p>\n When the REM was first publicised, CDPQ promised that VIA Rail trains and possibly other commuter trains would be allowed to use the upgraded Mont Royal tunnel as well. Such trains have been using the tunnel since its opening in 1918, as it provided quick access to the city\u2019s main railway station Gare Centrale (Central Station) from the north.<\/p>\n A few months later, however, CDPQ Infra announced that rush hour commuter trains would not be able to use the renovated tunnel due to the frequent automated REM trains. In the end, not even VIA Rail trains will be able to use this tunnel.<\/p>\n Of course, there\u2019s been no transparency on how CDPQ Infra will be paid from fare revenue. Just that they are charging the province a set fee annually, likely subject to ridership levels, potentially acts of God, and possibly land use changes.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, CDPQ Infra would not want that, they don\u2019t want any interference from the city or its transit agency STM, it would delay or derail CDPQ\u2019s plans for additional lines, which they obviously see as a solid long term investment. They need to be confident that cost overruns (which almost always happen) will be covered by the province.<\/p>\n In return, the province doesn\u2019t have to build up any M\u00e9tro construction expertise at all, as it has been completely handed off to CDPQ Infra. The Ville de Montr\u00e9al is the odd one out, having little say or leverage, other than insisting on a couple additional REM stations to interchange with M\u00e9tro lines.<\/p>\n However, the city has recently started construction of their own M\u00e9tro extension, a 6km, five stations east expansion of the Blue Line. STM expects to begin service in 2029. The original budget was $4.5 billion, but costs have already risen to $6.4 billion. The province is paying for much of this Blue line extension, with the federal government expected to contribute $1.3 billion.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, if Montr\u00e9al wants a transit project that a provincial government does not agree with or does not want to fund, the city will be on its own to pay for it, unless it can convince the Federal government to contribute.<\/p>\n Whilst REM will soon provide fast, frequent service to the West Island, this leaves the East Island suburbs poorly served by occasional commuter trains. So CDPQ had been charged by the province to devise a rapid public transport route to better serve the eastern third of the island. CDPQ Infra proposed a separate REM de l\u2019Est (Eastern REM) line east from downtown in early 2022.<\/p>\n However this proposal was savaged in the press and by the neighbourhoods it would traverse. Furthermore, the proposed elevated tracks above a major downtown street was seen as the empty net goal that sealed the fate of the proposal. As the proposed line would also parallel the existing M\u00e9tro Green Line for much of its route, and as it appeared to serve areas for redevelopment rather than existing neighbourhoods, the concept was roundly panned.<\/p>\n Furthermore, ARTM the regional transit planning organization, was concerned that the REM de l\u2019Est would abstract ridership from the generally parallel Green Line. This was enough for the City of Montr\u00e9al and the Government of Qu\u00e9bec to take back the planning of the REM de l\u2019Est from CDPQ Infra.<\/p>\n The city and province nixed the most controversial downtown segment, leaving only a single line between Pointe-aux-Trembles and Montr\u00e9al-Nord with no direct connection to downtown. As a result, CDPQ Infra soon realised that their REM de l\u2019Est line was facing much more determined opposition, and withdrew their proposal.<\/p>\n It is clear that Montr\u00e9al\u2019s public transport agencies, now including CDPQ, have not been working with each other their planning work, leading to little overall coordinated regional transit planning. This has led to duplicated efforts and poorly thought out proposals like REM de l\u2019Est V1.<\/p>\n With the opening of the first REM segment, ARTM has updated the regional public transport map with the new REM first stage A1 branch. In doing so, it has also returned the originally assigned M\u00e9tro line numbers, which had been removed for over a decade. and were known only by their colours. As 10% of the male population has some form of colour blindness, line numbering is crucial for full visual accessibility.<\/p>\n The eagle eyed may have noted that there is no M\u00e9tro line 3. This was originally planned as a M\u00e9tro line that would use the Mont-Royal tunnel reach the northern suburbs. but had never been converted from the Deux-Montagnes commuter line. it is only now once the REM trunk section opens next year that the initially envisioned rapid transit line will become a reality, over 50 years later. The five commuter train lines have been numbered as well, instead of being known by their termini. They are assigned line numbers 11 through 15.<\/p>\n The REM line and branches will also be numbered. Uniquely in North America, it will use the Parisian RER numbering system, with a letter for an entire line and numbers for each branch, here being A1, A2, A3, and A4.<\/p>\n Once the trunk of the REM Line opens through the Mont-Royal tunnel, the Mascouche Exo line 15 will be truncated to terminate at the new north side C\u00f4te-de-Liesse station. This will save its long journey around the west side of the mountain, then south of downtown, to actually turn north into Gare Centrale \u2013 a full 270\u00b0 circumferential travel to the city terminus downtown. This is a lot of extra mileage and time for commuters.<\/p>\n In April 2022, ARTM enacted the first fully multimodal zone fare regime in North America, Zone A is for the island of Montr\u00e9al, B for the inner suburbs of Longueuil and Laval, and C for communities beyond. No ridership figures have yet been published for which to measure the impact that this has had on public transit ridership. Although this analysis will also be complicated by additional fare zone improvements, the growing post-Covid ridership increase, and economic factors.<\/p>\n Aware of the criticism from many quarters of their initial REM de l\u2019Est proposal, the province established a committee to devise a better project to serve the east of Montr\u00e9al. ARTM was appointed to coordinate the work of the REM de l\u2019Est V2 committee, working with the Ville de Montr\u00e9al, the provincial Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, and the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de transport de Montr\u00e9al (STM, the city\u2019s public transport agency) , and renamed it the Projet structurant de l\u2019Est (PSE) \u2013 Eastern Structuring Project \u2013 in June 2023.<\/p>\n In the above map, the proposed PSE (REM de l\u2019Est V2) will interchanges with the existing Green Line, the Blue Line being extended, and the Mascouche commuter rail Line 15 (in purple). <\/p>\n Unfortunately, the committee has not been able to find similar synergies as REM had in taking over an existing railway or upgrading an under-utilised railway corridor. As a result, the PSE proposal launched in June 2023 was chosen to be entirely underground \u2013 the committee decided that aerial stations, planned in the initial REM de l\u2019Est V1 project, would not be \u2018in harmony\u2019 with the suburban milieu it would traverse. The new project follows the initial REM de l\u2019Est route from the Pointe-aux-Trembles neighbourhood to the Montr\u00e9al-Nord borough, but without serving downtown. The committee recommended adding:<\/p>\n Two interchanges with the Green Line of the Montr\u00e9al M\u00e9tro, which would provide access to downtown;<\/p>\n Four additional stations, extending the initial route: one off island in Laval, and,<\/p>\n on the east side, one in Charlemagne in Lanaudi\u00e8re.<\/p>\n This proposed 34 kilometer long route is now estimated at $36 billion CAD, almost four times more than the estimate for the initial project of $10 billion in 2020. However, rush hour ridership is estimated at only 6,250 riders per hour, with mid-day ridership estimated at only 2,000 passengers per hour. This is really low for any tunnelled line, be it light rail, REM, or M\u00e9tro.<\/p>\n It is clear that Montr\u00e9al\u2019s public transport agencies, now including CDPQ, overlap planning entities, and little overall regional or urban transit planning, leading to duplicated efforts and poorly thought out proposals.<\/p>\n Some local transit observers believe that the PSE could be a Trojan Horse proposal, too large, costly, and not going downtown (where most of the riders want to go), making it too ridiculous to be taken seriously. Further speculation is that this proposal has been floated to make any subsequent REM mode proposal appear cheap, concise, and well thought out in comparison.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, it is clear that there is some severe dysfunction in the Greater Montr\u00e9al Area\u2019s public transport planning, with different and confused priorities. <\/p>\n John Williams, Deputy Project Director of Bechtel\u2019s Crossrail project delivery partner team between 2016 and 2019, spoke recently in Toronto about this experience. He had led the staged integration and upgrade of the existing suburban lines into Crossrail\u2019s new central operating section. Its ridership is now in excess of forecasts \u2013 it reached the 100m passenger journeys milestone in its first 6 months of service, which is equivalent to 3m passengers per week.<\/p>\n Thus high quality, frequent transit is still very useful, even if it is suburban, even after the pandemic. That the Central London route, stations, and interchanges were carefully chosen is proof that the line is well designed and outstandingly useful.<\/p>\n Williams had four Lessons Learnt for a successful project:<\/p>\n Goldilocks Sponsorship \u2013 political leadership needs to be just right level, not neglected, not overwhelming. And avoiding the governance \u2018theatre\u2019 layer, as it distracts senior management teams from managing the execution risks.<\/p>\n Right people, the right skills, at the right time. Expertise certainly matters. Need domain knowledge, not outsiders.<\/p>\n One team owning entire project. Closeness to the work itself. Tough messages travel slowly.<\/p>\n Know the contractors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).<\/p>\n To summarise his talk, it is imperative that the government side have technical staff, and politicians that know and understand what\u2019s involved that the technical staff have public transport line building experience. Otherwise it becomes the Crossrail experience of long delays and budgets blown.<\/p>\n CDPQ Infra had originally promised VIA Rail, Canada\u2019s inter-city passenger train operator, that its operations using Mont-Royal Tunnel would continue, interlining with REM trains. However, it\u2019s quite clear that REM operating even at 12 tph per direction off peak would not leave much interlining capability.<\/p>\n VIA Rail has been developing its High Frequency Railway (HFR) scheme between Toronto, Ottawa, Montr\u00e9al, and Qu\u00e9bec City, constructing its own railway for the majority of the distance. However, it will need to use existing tracks in cities. To access downtown Montr\u00e9al, VIA Rail just lost its priority downtown access via the Mont-Royal tunnel (it still has access to Gare Centrale via the Canadian National Railway\u2019s (CN) tracks just south of downtown).<\/p>\n So to optimise HFR\u2019s access to Montr\u00e9al would require new dedicated tracks downtown. Being a crowded urban environment, this will be expensive. VIA is currently investigating an HFR station in north Montr\u00e9al, close to the planned HFR tracks heading east and west, with a connection to a M\u00e9tro station. This is not ideal as it is an additional transfer and time to reach the population centred on downtown, as well as the centre of the M\u00e9tro and commuter rail networks for quick connections.<\/p>\n The federal government just released a short list of private-sector bidders to build HFR between Qu\u00e9bec City and Toronto. Ironically, a consortium including the CDPQ is one of three finalists for what could be one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canadian history, should it be approved. Canada is the only G7 country without high speed rail.<\/p>\n This initial REM stage is estimated to have already been a factor in $5-billion worth of real estate development on Montr\u00e9al\u2019s South Shore, which is three times the pace that the CDPQ had predicted.<\/p>\n An eight month extensive testing program was undertaken to ensure that the trains could operate in all weather conditions, including snow, freezing rain, high winds, and -40C cold.<\/p>\n Gare Centrale is Montr\u00e9al\u2019s main passenger rail station VIA Rail intercity and EXO suburban trains. Unfortunately, this station is actually a 5 minute walk from the closest M\u00e9tro station, Bonaventure, on the Orange Line. The walk is at least indoors, part of La Ville Souterraine (Underground City) via revolving doors, escalators, and past small shops. Not a seamless connection however.<\/p>\n Fortunately, the CDPQ was able to create a better direct passage to Gare Centrale from the Place Bonaventure mall and office tower, which is much quicker. It may or may not be open \u2013 a Schr\u00f6dinger passageway \u2013 depending on which transit blogger you follow. Apparently negotiation on property rights and placing signage are still ongoing with Place Bonaventure. From what can be seen, it has some narrow staircases, which aren\u2019t good for throughput nor accessibility. There are no escalators or lifts on this path.<\/p>\n The stations were not air conditioned on opening weekend, but the trains are well cooled. There are some coloured tiles in stations that provide subtle visual clues for riders. The stations are standardised and minimalist, but nevertheless pleasant, as seen in RMTransit\u2019s detailed look<\/a>. Albeit far from the M\u00e9tro\u2019s design aesthetic of each station having unique architecture<\/p>\n Wider than M\u00e9tro cars, the ultimate REM capacity, once fully built out, is 20,000 passengers per hour per direction. But with the flexibility to operate two or four car trains according to demand. Whilst the trains have hard back and bottom longitudinal seats, the ride is smooth, so our LR correspondent deems them much more comfortable than Thameslink\u2019s.<\/p>\n The curving aerial viaduct over industrial areas is reminiscent of the DLR\u2019s ducking and diving track sections. The REM has larger radius curves and correspondingly higher speeds for a more thrilling ride. Compounded if one stands at the large front window of the automated train.<\/p>\n Many competing south shore express bus routes that provided direct over the bridge one seat riders to downtown have been routed to REM stations. This could be a CDPQ contractual stipulation. But it\u2019s made trips longer and more expensive for some people, although it is difficult to determine how many have been affected. <\/p>\n From a mere murmur in 2015, this line has been designed, constructed, and opened in only seven years. It is a document to the green credentials of this mode\u2019s operation and flexibility. It also demonstrates the benefits of a fully automated metro line with platform doors, much like Crossrail and many Paris RER lines. <\/p>\n It may be the end of the world as we know it, but by taking Montr\u00e9al\u2019s new trains, residents and visitors will feel fine. Transit enthusiasts will talk about the passion for a long time, especially as the line grows to fruition. Passengers will stand in the trains, and many drivers will lose their religion. REM will have a monster impact on mobility on and off the Island of Montr\u00e9al, leading to new adventures in life\u2019s rich pageant.<\/p>\n Fin<\/p>\n Merci to new LR colleague and Montr\u00e9alais Daniel Demby for attending and taking photos at the REM Inauguration media event.<\/em><\/p>\n The post How Montr\u00e9al\u2019s REM learnt from the Paris RER \u2013 Automatic for the People<\/a> appeared first on London Reconnections<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Move over RER, Montr\u00e9al\u2019s new fully automated R\u00e9seau express m\u00e9tropolitain (REM)\u2019s first segment has opened. Once fully completed, the REM line will link directly across Montr\u00e9al Island north, south, and west. Essentially, a Regional Express Rail (RER) line, similar to those in Paris (but not as far reaching), and London\u2019s Crossrail, but at a smaller scale. Closely spaced stations in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camcab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Drilling down into the mountain<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s the Frequency, Kenneth?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Underground City<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Pension funds as public transport builders <\/strong>and owners?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Open Access to Renovated Mont Royal Tunnel?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Disjointed public transport planning<\/strong><\/h2>\n
M\u00e9tro network still being extended<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Another REM line, but this time too much<\/strong><\/h2>\n
A more integrated public transport network<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Another design for a line too far \u2013 <\/strong>PSE<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\non the north side, two stations in Rivi\u00e8re-des-Prairies<\/p>\nPSE Critiques<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Crossrail\u2019s experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Taking over the Mont Royal Tunnel<\/strong><\/h2>\n
REM\u2019s A1 first phase Inauguration<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Automatic for the People<\/strong><\/h2>\n