Investment group proposes Montreal light rail system

The Réseau électrique métropolitain (REM) will link downtown Montréal, the South Shore, the West Island (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), the North Shore (Deux-Montagnes) and the airport in a unified, fully-automated system comprising 24 stations and operating 20 hours a day, seven days a week. An underground component is included in repurposing the existing Mount Royal tunnel.

CDPQ Infra, established in July 2015, said upon completion REM will be the third largest automated transportation system in the world after Dubai (80km) and Vancouver (68km), and just ahead of Singapore (65km).

REM represents the largest public transportation infrastructure since the Montréal metro, inaugurated in 1966. The new network represents an investment of approximately CAD 5.5bn. La Caisse is willing to commit CAD 3bn to the project. The proposed financial structure also requires investments by the governments of Québec and Canada and the decision to move forward with the project is conditional upon their financial participation.

"A network as significant as the one we are proposing could potentially add more than CAD 3bn to the Québec GDP over four years. We also expect close to CAD 5bn in private real estate developments along the chosen route," said Christian Dubé, Executive Vice-President, Québec at la Caisse.

The plan also includes reserve capacity to meet future needs, with five potential stations envisioned for areas such as McGill University and Université de Montréal.

CDPQ Infra will begin a consultation process with various stakeholders in the coming weeks and plans to submit this project to the environmental impact public hearing (BAPE) process at the end of the summer. The group said, "if all these steps are taken successfully, construction is currently expected to begin in the spring of 2017, so that the first trains can be in service towards the end of 2020."