The Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) will no longer run between Panama and Gare Centrale stations from Sunday to Thursday after 10 p.m. for six weeks from October 15th, as work is carried out to reduce noise from the light rail system.
Published at 7:24 p.m. Updated at 8:50 p.m.
“In order to carry out the necessary work to reduce the noise impact of the REM in certain sectors, an interruption of operations for approximately six weeks between Gare Centrale and Panama stations is planned, starting from October 15, 2023, from 10 p.m. Sunday to 10 p.m. Thursday,” confirmed REM manager CDPQ Infra in a statement at the end of the day.
CDPQ Infra had already mentioned a few weeks ago that service interruptions were to be expected, but we did not yet know exactly when.
Operations will therefore be suspended from 10:00 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., the normal closing time of the REM, which will then reopen at 5:30 a.m. However, the usual schedule will be maintained on Fridays and Saturdays. “During the disruption, bus shuttles will operate between the two stations,” explained the organization, which will therefore again turn to the Longueuil Transport Network (RTL) to transport users.
The Caisse de dépôt subsidiary admitted that the noise emitted by its train between L’Île-des-Sœurs and the central station was “unsatisfactory”, but announced at the end of September that acoustic grinding work on the tracks would be carried out by November. This essentially involves applying a lubricant to the rails to reduce the noise of friction with the passing train.
Dynamic absorbers will also be installed by December to reduce the spread of vibrations on the rails. These two measures are intended to reduce sound intensity by 5 to 10 decibels, which is equivalent to a noise reduction “3 to 10 times”. The installation of new noise barriers is excluded.
“We simply surprised users”
At Trajectoire Québec, an association that represents the interests and rights of public transport users, we denounce that it is the users who will suffer first from the situation. The company would have liked the work to be carried out “during the four-hour night-time shutdown that was precisely planned for track maintenance.”
“We have just surprised users with this announcement with a notice of five days, which is not much for those who need to adjust their trip,” laments the organization’s general director, Sarah V. Doyon. “The important thing is to maintain service quality so that users can rely on it,” she insists.
In his eyes, the need to transfer from the shuttle bus to the REM between Panama and Brossard stations “increases the inconvenience” for users.
Up to 75 decibels
However, if the grinding work is carried out “on the entire section between L’Île-des-Sœurs and the central station”, the dynamic absorbers will only be present “on essential sections of the line that are close to residential buildings,” said the President and CEO of CDPQ Infra, Jean-Marc Arbaud.
Measurements carried out by La Presse this summer using a sound level meter showed that the noise generated by the REM regularly exceeds 70 decibels, sometimes even the 75 mark, particularly in the Pointe-Saint-Charles district.
The situation worried Montreal’s public health department at the time, but many residents were also upset about the disruption to their daily lives, forcing the Caisse de dépôt to launch a sound testing campaign. In the end, the decision was made to carry out new work.
This noise reduction work is expected to cost “a few million, less than ten”, said Mr Arbaud, who sees no budget problem.
Learn more
8 billion According to the latest estimate from early September, the REM will ultimately cost almost 8 billion, a 45% increase over the project’s original estimate. Unsurprisingly, CDPQ Infra cited the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the discovery of century-old explosives in the Mount Royal Tunnel as explanations for this increase.
SOURCE: CDPQ INFRA