by Rhonda Massad
The Caisse de depot wishes to invest $3 billion in the most important commitment to transit on the Montreal in the past 50 years. There will be 24 stations and 67 kilometres of track in the new light rail system (LRT) that will link Pierre Elliott Trudeau airpot, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Two Mountains (North Shore) and Brossard (Shore south) over the new Champlain bridge.
The new system will operate 20 hours out of 24, 7 days a week and is expected to serve 150,000 passengers every day.
Travel times from the West Island to Montreal city centre are expected to be 35-40 minutes from Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, 25 to 30 minutes from the airport to the city center: and Deux-Montagnes from downtown: 35 to 40 minutes.
Once completed, the REM will be the third largest automated transportation system in the world after Dubai (80 km) and Vancouver (68 km), and just ahead of Singapore (65 km). New stations will be integrated into their urban environment and designed to allow easy access for pedestrians, bicycles, cars and buses. All stations will be covered, climate-controlled, equipped with elevators, and will meet the principles of universal access.
Finally, by choosing the Highway 40 route to the West Island, the project allows for the creation of a dedicated corridor for public transportation, without the need to share tracks with freight trains.
Consultations will begin in Spring of 2016, public hearing in late summer 2016, construction begins in spring 2017, commissioning of trains in 2020.