Projet Montréal wants to add 'Pink line' to Metro
Proposal part of municipal opposition party's pledge to invest more in public transit
It's official: Projet Montréal wants to add a "Pink line" to the Montreal Metro system.
First floated by Valérie Plante in last fall's leadership campaign, the idea was among a number of proposals adopted at a weekend convention.
The line would run diagonally from Montreal North through downtown and, potentially, further south and west all the way to Lachine.
Plante estimated last fall that the line would cost roughly $6 billion — the cost of Montreal's light-rail project, which would link downtown Montreal with the South Shore and West Island.
On Radio-Canada's Gravel le matin, Plante acknowledged the idea for another Metro line was ambitious, but maintained it was achievable.
"The problem is we haven't put enough investment into public transit in the past 50 years," she said.
Plante said a Blue line extension, an idea that has been floated by politicians for decades, is also a priority for the party.
Over the weekend, party members also adopted a new name, Projet Montréal — Équipe Valérie Plante.
The change is an attempt to raise their leader's profile ahead of the municipal election in November, when she will face off against Mayor Denis Coderre.
While Projet Montréal holds only 17 of 65 seats at City Hall, compared to 33 for Équipe Denis Coderre, Plante is hopeful she can make major inroads five months from now.
"People are tired of being taken for granted," she said. "Denis Coderre does it a lot by cutting a lot of ribbons, but he has little presence on the field."