Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault is still dreaming of a possible extension of the REM from the east to downtown, which has been sidelined since CDPQ Infra pulled out of the project. However, this would be done in a second phase of work, she stresses, recalling that it will be necessary to reconsider the type of insertion and the layout.
Posted at 3:16pm
“Whatever happens, the connection with downtown will not be impossible a second time if needed,” Ms Guilbault admitted Monday while addressing the Montreal Chamber of Commerce East (CCEM).
She was responding to the remarks made by the Chamber’s CEO, Jean-Denis Charest, who argued a little earlier at the microphone that “the uncertainty” regarding the link with the downtown area of the future REM de l’Est is sure to raise fears and concerns in the business community who want to see this stretch come to fruition.
Asked to clarify her thoughts in a press scramble, the minister remained cautious, assuring on several occasions that she still had nothing to announce. “Nevertheless, it is not a closed system. Public transport projects are sometimes implemented in phases. These are things that can be continued, that can be linked together,” she nonetheless acknowledged, adding that the same is true of Quebec’s streetcar.
In order for the connection with the city center to be “acceptable”, Ms Guilbault believes that several parameters need to be checked. “The type of insertion and, of course, the layout are becoming key issues in terms of social acceptability. This will be a question that needs to be asked of everyone involved,” she continued.
The “able” green line for now
In late January, La Presse reported that if the REM de l’Est fails to connect with the city center, the Montreal subway’s green line is likely to accommodate at least 10% more passengers and its interchange stations could explode in user numbers.
According to the committee’s preliminary report, an easterly REM with no connection to the city center would contribute to a daily congestion of at least 4,000 passengers during peak hours, or 10% more than the normal traffic of the Green Line, which has already seen passenger numbers increase since the works at Tunnel La fountain. At Assomption station, the increase would be more significant: the number of peak hours would increase from 2,500 to 18,000, an increase of 620%. In the east branch, on the Rue Sherbrooke Est axis, 60% of users would eventually take the green line.
On Monday, Minister Guilbault reiterated that “the green line is able to accommodate the traffic that will come from the REM de l’Est”. She cited a recent study by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) which states that “the metro’s green line still has significant residual capacity that should last for at least ten years”.
However, the study specifies that the REM “will make it necessary to accelerate the deployment of new means of increasing capacity”. The extension of the blue line, for which the STM has just announced in partnership with Ivanhoé Cambridge that there will actually be a station at the Galeries d’Anjou, will also be able to connect the REM from Lacordaire station discharged, the minister said.
“We want to do things right. I’m one of those people who thinks you might as well run a project as optimally as possible,” Ms Guilbault insisted, saying she wanted to avoid “the end of candle saving”. “We want a budget that stands and is realistic,” she claimed.
“Accelerate construction sites”
During her speech, the transport minister also mentioned that Quebec “needs to find a way to speed up construction,” particularly in the city center, where a third of the orange cones would be “useless,” according to a recent report from the Metropolitan Montreal Chamber of Commerce (CCMM).
“We have a lot of infrastructure projects to do, and we’re sure there’s a way to shorten the time and make it cheaper […] so that there is less strain on public finances,” she argued.
More broadly, Quebec says “what doesn’t cost anything” is a priority to reduce the number of orange cylinders on metropolitan streets. “We’re thinking about it with the mayor [Valérie Plante] to know if we can play with rules and procedures. If we can, let’s do it and it will improve people’s quality of life,” Ms Guilbault supported on the issue, but said she needed the support of unions and the construction industry first and foremost.