Completion of Montreal's new light-speed rail lines pushed to fall 2025
Testing will also mean exisiting REM to South Shore will be closed for several weeks next summer
The completion of the light-speed rail network connecting Montreal's West Island and the North Shore to downtown has been delayed once again, with the project now expected to be finished by the fall of 2025, according to the project manager's announcement on Thursday.
Originally scheduled for completion in 2023, the Deux-Montagnes and Anse-à-l'Orme branches of the REM were then delayed to 2024. CDPQ Infra, which is managing the project, cited the complexity of work in the Mont-Royal tunnel—a five-kilometre stretch—as a primary reason for the delays.
Additionally, testing for the new branches will lead to service disruptions on the existing line connecting downtown Montreal to Brossard in the upcoming months. Train service to the South Shore will be suspended during certain weekends in January and February, followed by some weeknights in April. In the summer, the entire southern leg of the line is expected to be closed for four to six weeks. During these closures, bus service will be provided.
The total cost of the project has now risen to $8.3 billion, a five per cent increase from the previous year. CDPQ Infra confirmed it would cover these additional expenses.
Jean-Marc Arbaud, CEO and president of CDPQ Infra, emphasized that despite difficult construction conditions over the past few years, the light-rail branches are nearing completion. “Our teams and partners have shown incredible creativity and determination to keep progressing despite the challenges,” he said in a statement.
Denis Martin, mayor of Deux-Montagnes, expressed optimism that the trains would be operational by the start of the school year. “The start of the school year and the return from vacation, at the end of summer, are always a difficult time,” he noted, adding that residents are eager for more public transit options. “Traffic is getting worse and worse.”
On the South Shore line, CDPQ Infra reported a record high of 45,000 rides per day in September. Arbaud also expressed confidence that the reliability of the service will improve this winter, after facing challenges during the cold months last year.
