The new REM de l’Est “reference route” no longer connects directly to downtown Montreal, but could reach as far as Rivière-des-Prairies east of the A25, east of Laval, or even in Lanaudière.
Posted at 5:00 am
Philippe Teisceira-Lessard The press
The route, which is quite similar to that of CDPQ Infra, would pass through a green line station (Assomption) and a future extended blue line station (Lacordaire).
This shows a map from the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM) that was part of a tender published in recent days. The organization is looking for a company to provide technical support to the project’s “working group” which includes ARTM, the City of Montreal, Quebec and the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). This body took over the file after the withdrawal of CDPQ Infra in May 2022.
IMAGE SUPPLIED BY THE ARTM
Reference route and sectors of possible extensions of the REM de l’Est
The possibility of extending the REM from the east to Lanaudière or Laval has already been mentioned by François Legault. This is the first time that an extension to Rivière-des-Prairies is on the table. This extension could reach an unspecified point on Boulevard Gouin Est or even a possible “Rivière des Prairies terminus”, the location of which is unknown.
However, these enhancements are far from guaranteed.
The company chosen to provide technical support to the working group must also help “validate the opportunity [du projet et des prolongements] with regard to the demand for mobility”. It must also help to “evaluate the technical pre-feasibility and the urban integration”, assess the costs of the project and “compare the integration solutions, the alternative routes and the new routes”.
Additional Studies
The company that wins the tender must produce traffic simulations, a “diagnostic portrait” of the area to be served and a “mobility portrait”. The ARTM anticipates that more than 17,000 man-hours will be required by architects, engineers and their support teams.
The contract runs for a year.
The tender documents stipulate that the work of the working group should be completed in June 2023. However, an “interim report” is expected by the end of this year.
These documents will be added to all documents ordered by CDPQ Infra during the two years that the organization has held the reins of the project. A total of almost 100 million was spent, an amount that was reimbursed by Quebec as provided for in the project development contract.
“We will not lose hope”
The debates surrounding the route of the network continue to energize Montreal’s civil society despite CDPQ Infra’s abandonment of the project in May 2022. Quebec and the City of Montreal simultaneously announced that the project will be carried out without a direct connection, with downtown — the most controversial section of the project — provoking several criticisms.
The East Montreal Chamber of Commerce argued that such a separation was unacceptable: “The solution chosen must provide a direct connection to downtown, connect East Montreal to the entire metropolitan area, and maximize territorial coverage. »
At the end of August, the real estate developer Christian Yaccarini and the managing director of Vivre en Ville, Christian Savard, proposed a REM project in the east with underground connection to the city center.
Thursday night, Mr. Savard said he was disappointed but not surprised by the ARTM card. “I’d like us to also explore the possibility of going downtown on a different route than CDPQ Infra,” he said. We’re not losing hope, we’ll keep working to convince. »
The ARTM did not respond to La Presse’s request for information.