Réseau express métropolitain

The Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is a future 67 kilometre rapid transit network in the Greater Montreal area in the Province of Québec. It would link downtown Montreal, the South Shore, West Island, North Shore and Montreal—Trudeau International Airport. Connections will be made with the existing Montreal Metro and exo commuter rail and bus networks. The REM will be completely automated and will be the fourth largest automated transportation system in the world.

History

Initially known as the Réseau électrique métropolitain (REM), the plan was unveiled on April 22, 2016 by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), the province’s pension fund manager. They are expected to $3 billion of the estimated $5.5 billion needed for the project. They are asking the provincial and federal government to cover the remaining $2.5 billion. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2017, and the network is expected to be complete by the end of 2020.

On June 28, 2016 the CDPQ issued two Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) for the REM. Qualified candidates will be invited to participate in the call for proposals. The two RFQs were in regards to "Engineering, Procurement and Construction for the Infrastructures" and "Provision of the Rolling Stock, Systems and Operation and Maintenance Services". Applicants for engineering and construction were received from Groupe NouvLR (composed of SNC Lavalin Grands Projets Inc., Dragados Canada Inc., Groupe Aecon Québec Ltée, Pomerleau Inc., EBC Inc) and Kiewit-Eurovia, un partenariat (composed of Construction Kiewit Cie, Eurovia Québec Grands Projets Inc). Both consortia were qualified to submit proposals. Applications for rolling stock were received from AHC Consortium (composed of Ansaldo STS S.p.A., Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A, CAD Industries Ferroviaires Ltée), Alliance Montréal Mobilité (composed of Parsons Inc., Huyndai Rotem, RATP Dev Canada Inc.), Bombardier Transport Canada, China Railway International Co. Ltd, and Groupe des Partenaires pour la Mobilité des Montréalais (composed of Alstom Transport Canada, SNC-Lavalin, O&M Inc). Alliance Montréal Mobilité, Bombardier Transport, and Groupe des Partenaires pour la Mobilité des Montréalais were qualified to submit proposals.

The CDPQ initiated a series of open houses throughout June 2016 to put forth their plan to the public and receive feedback. An Environmental Impact Study was commissioned for the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement. This was followed by further public consultation, including a series of open houses through November and December.

Construction officially began in April 2018. Work includes station and elevated guideway construction on the South Shore and West Island. In Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, construction of the station at Édouard-Montpetit (connecting to the Métro’s Blue Line) will require an excavation placing it 70 metres below street level, making it the second deepest station in North America. A full modernization of the Deux-Montagnes lines is underway with a new electrical power system, new tracks, grade separations, and new stations.

Beginning in June 2018, REM construction meant that the Deux-Montagnes and Mascouche Lines had to operate on a single track. This also meant schedule adjustments. It was planned to completely close the line between Du Ruisseau and Gare Central in January 2020 for further work. After poor reception from the public, it was decided to close the segment on March 30, 2020 instead. The work would still be completed in 2022 as planned.

Construction of the elevated structures begins with large columns. Prefabricated guideway sections are lifted into place by launching gantries and installed. There are two launching gantries. One named Marie after Marie Curie Street and on named Anne after Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. To construct the underground section, a tunnel boring machine (TBM) is used. It will tunnel the line between Technoparc and Montréal-Trudeau airport. The line needs to go underground here to protect the wetlands of the Technoparc and pass under the airport runways. At the start of December 2019, it was announced that the TBM would be named Alice in honor of Alice Evelyn Wilson who conducted fundamental studies for the analysis of rocks and fossils in the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Ottawa Valley.

In March 2020, the Government of Quebec began placing restrictions on activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction was halted until May 11, 2020 when work resumed with a number of new protocols in place.

The first segment of the REM between downtown Montreal and Brossard was supposed to open in 2021. The date was later pushed to mid-2022 and then the end of 2022. By October 2022, the CDPQ announced that the opening date was pushed again to the spring of 2023. July 31, 2023 was finally announced as the first official day of revenue service for the first segment. The remaining segments, originally set to open in 2023, were now set to open at the end of 2024. The segment to the airport, however, would not open until 2027.

Route

The central section of the REM network runs from Bois-Franc Station, following the Deux-Montagnes line through the Mont-Royal tunnel, to Gare Centrale. A new station near Autoroute 40 will provide a connection to the Mascouche line. New underground stations at McGill and Édouard-Montpetit will provide connections to the Métro.

Heading southeast, the South Shore branch passes through Le Sud-Ouest to Île-des-Soeurs. Crossing the St. Lawrence River on the new Champlain Bridge, the line travels through Brossard to a terminus near the intersection of Autoroutes 10 and 30.

Northwest of Bois-Franc, the Deux-Montagnes branch follows the same route at the current exo Deux-Montagnes line. Splitting near Autoroute 13, a branch heads towards Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Another branch heads to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.

Stations

There are 26 REM stations, which are characterized by the use of wood, one of Québec’s major raw materials, and glass, which will let in natural light. The REM is divided into six sections, each with a distinct color scheme. The colors were inspired by places the REM passes through. The blue was inspired by la rivière des Prairies. The green was inspired by the West Island parks. The red was inspired by bricks of buildings in Saint-Laurent and Ville-de-Mont-Royal. The colors will be present on the walls, floor, furniture, and landscape.

Station name	Date opened	Connections	Notes
Brossard			Proposed as Rive-Sud
Du Quartier
Panama
Île-des-Soeurs
Griffintown–Bernard-Landry
Gare Centrale
McGill
Édouard-Montpetit
Canora
Ville-de-Mont-Royal			Proposed as Mont-Royal
Côte-de-Liesse			Proposed as Correspondance A40
Montpellier
Du Ruisseau
Bois-Franc
Deux-Montagnes branch
Sunnybrooke
Pierrefonds-Roxboro			Proposed as Roxboro-Pierrefonds
Île-Bigras
Sainte-Dorothée
Grand-Moulin
Deux-Montagnes
Airport branch
Marie-Curie			Proposed as Technoparc
YUL–Montréal–Trudeau Airport			Proposed as Aéroport-Montréal-Trudeau
L'Anse-à-l'Orme branch
Des Sources
Fairview–Pointe-Claire			Porposed as Point-Claire
Kirkland
L'Anse-à-l'Orme branch			Proposed as Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue

Rolling stock

In June 2016, the Caisse issued a request for proposals (RFP) for rolling stock, systems, operations and maintenance. Three companies and consortiums qualified for this contract: Alliance Montréal Mobilité (composed of Parsons Inc., Hyundai Rotem, RATP Dev Canada Inc. and Thales CanadaInc), Bombardier Transportation Canada Inc., and Groupe des Partenaires pour la Mobilité des Montréalais (composed of Alstom Transport Canada Inc. and SNC-Lavalin O&M Inc.). The contract was awarded to Groupe des Partenaires pour la Mobilité des Montréalais in February 2018. As part of the contract, Alstom is supplying the REM with 212 driverless Metropolis metro cars (106 two-car trainsets).

Three train design concepts were presented to the public for a vote. The Saint-Laurent concept was inspired by the Saint-Laurent river, which the REM will cross. It has a light green and dark green stripe with light green outlining the face of the train. Lines of white LED headlights cascade towards the centre of the train evoking the cables on the new Samuel-De Champlain Bridge. The L'Expo concept drew inspiration from Expo '67 and the jet age. The forward half of the car is light green. LED headlights resembling the shape of aircraft winglets are tied together by a thin strip. The Mont-Royal concept was inspired by the mountain that overlooks Montreal. The roof of the train is light green and lines of LEDs sweep towards the side of the front. On March 29, 2019, the REM announced that the Saint-Laurent concept was the winner.

Production of the first REM car began in October 2019. And by October 2020, the first four cars were delivered to the Greater Montréal area. At a special event, that was also broadcast on social media, the four cars were unveiled to the public on November 16, 2020. Testing of the cars is underway on a 3.5km segment of track between Brossard Station and Panama Station.

A four car train is 250 feet long, and each car is 116 inches wide. Trains collect their power from a pantograph in contact with 1,500 V catenary. Inside there is seating for 128 passengers. Eight spaces are reserved for people with reduced mobility or for strollers, baggage or bicycles. Trains are equipped with wi-fi.

Expansion

REM de l'Est

On December 15, 2020 the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, together with the Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal, unveiled plans for a new REM line in Montreal's east. REM de l'Est, as it is referred to, will have 32 kilometres of new rapid transit with 23 stations. From Gare Centrale, the line would be elevated over Boulevard René-Levesque and continuing over Rue Notre-Dame. In Viauville, the line would split. One branch would head north to Station Assomption on the Metro. It would continue underground to Montreal-Nord where it would be elevated and turn east to the terminus at Cégep Marie-Victorin. The other branch would follow Rue Sherbrooke above ground to Pointe-aux-Trembles.