Plante fumes as Quebec considers possible expansion of REM!
07 May 2019
Monday’s announcement that the Quebec government is looking at extending the coming Réseau express métropolitain light rail system northward into Laval and south to Chambly and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu elicited the ire of Mayor Valérie Plante, who said such moves could exacerbate Montreal’s métro overcrowding.
The proposal betrays “a lack of understanding of the the reality of congestion on the Orange Line,” Plante said. The plan is “not connected to this reality.”
She added she is “very concerned” that the proposals do not take into account the impact an expansion could have on “the heart of the network. You can add (all the extensions you want) but if the heart is paralyzed we won’t advance.”
Transport Minister François Bonnardel announced Monday the government has asked Quebec pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec — which is paying for a half of construction of the 67-kilometre light rail line and has the contract to manage it — to study adding two new branches to extend the line’s reach into central Laval to the Carrefour Laval shopping centre and southeast to Chambly and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
At the same time, the Coalition Avenir Québec government is asking them to examine a “new public transit system” to connect downtown with east-end Montreal.
The studies are expected to be completed in 18 months.
Plante said a government agency — the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain — should guide any expansion of the REM proposed by Caisse subidieary CDPQ Infra. Unlike the ARTM, CDPQ Infra is not overseen by elected officials. Five mayors from the Montreal area are on the ARTM’s board, including Plante.
Chantal Rouleau, deputy minister for transport and minister responsible for the Montreal region, said the fact the government has requested the plans, and that the Caisse has accepted to undertake the studies, indicates both sides are serious about the extensions.
Rouleau said she is hoping for results of the study in the next year, soon after the ARTM is expected to give its strategic plan for the next 10 years for the overall region.
“We know that there is a large weakness in public transit for the east end of Montreal right now, and we are responding to that,” said Rouleau, the former mayor of Rivières-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles.
The government is interested in seeing one transit line stretching to the eastern tip of the island in Pointe-aux-Trembles, and another branch heading north, parallel to Highway 25, toward CEGEP Marie-Victorin in Rivière-des-Prairies.
While Rouleau had earlier called for an electric tramway to run along Notre-Dame St. E., she said the government is now seeking the Caisse’s advice on the best form of electric transit to use — be it REM train cars, a tramway or other format — “because they have expertise in the matter.”
Asked whether she was concerned extending the REM nearly 20 kilometres northward to serve Laval and another 30 kilometres south to St-Jean-sur-Richelieu could contribute to urban sprawl and the exodus of Montrealers from the island, Rouleau said: “Urban sprawl is already there.”
“There are already dense population centres on the South Shore and the North Shore. So on an environmental level, we need to reduce the number of cars on the road by improving public transit. We need to improve mobility to Montreal to make it more attractive” and entice people travel there and fill its labour needs, she said.
Public transit improvements like the REM, the extension of the métro Blue Line east to Anjou and the express bus system coming to Pie-IX Blvd. will reduce pressure on the Orange Line, Rouleau said. The party has asked for a study of how the various proposed extensions will affect the overall system, she said.
Bonnardel did not address requests made by the Aéroports de Montréal and West Island municipalities including Dorval to extend the REM line from the future Montreal-Trudeau Airport station 700 metres south to connect with the Dorval station that is served by the Exo suburban train line and Via Rail.
The $6.3-billion driverless REM light-rail electric system will feature four lines extending from Brossard south of Montreal to Deux-Montagnes north of Montreal, the airport and the West Island. The southerly line is expected to open in 2021 and the rest of the service is scheduled to be running by 2023.
