We have a date: REM trains from South Shore to Montreal will open to public July 31
The REM will run from Brossard to downtown Montreal
Montreal's new light-rail network link to the city's South Shore finally will open for the first time to passengers on July 31, CDPQ Infra, the group charged with delivering the network, announced Friday morning.
Réseau express métropolitain (REM) trains will run between downtown Montreal's Gare Centrale to Brossard on the South Shore, the company said in a press release.
Crews have been carrying out dry runs for the past few weeks, operating on the regular schedule but without passengers.
The opening has faced a series of delays, including due to the pandemic.
Originally, that portion of the REM was scheduled to be up and running in 2021.
In October 2022, CDPQ Infra — a subsidiary of Quebec's pension fund manager, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec — said "exceptional circumstances," including the global pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had made it nearly impossible to deliver the project on time.
CDPQ Infra says it will continue with dry runs over the next few weeks to allow final adjustments.
When the entire system is finished, the light-rail network is expected to have a total of 26 stations, linking downtown Montreal, the north and south shores, Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and the West Island.
It will also link to the Montreal Metro's Orange, Green and Blue lines.
The South Shore section of the REM has five stations and will make it possible to get to downtown Montreal from Brossard in less than 18 minutes.
Other stations running through the centre of Montreal as well as Deux-Montagnes and West Island stations are expected to be inaugurated in 2024, while the link to the airport is scheduled for 2027, according to CDPQ Infra.
With files from Shawn Lyons and Radio-Canada