Despite continued pleas from coroners, Montreal metro not proceeding with platform screen doors any time soon
"The girl's death from the collision with the metro train could have been avoided if platform doors had been in place," Coroner Karine Spénard wrote in her investigation report.
Montreal's transit authority has announced that it has no immediate plans to install platform screen doors on the metro system, despite repeated calls from Quebec coroners who argue that these safety barriers could prevent suicides. This decision comes even though the provincial government has assured that the installation costs would be fully covered.
The Réseau express métropolitain (REM), Montreal's new light rail system, which opened to the public in July 2023, became the first major public transit system in North America to equip all its stations with such safety barriers. These automated doors extend along the platform, only opening when a train has arrived and is stationary, thereby preventing people or objects from accessing the tracks.
In contrast, the city’s larger metro network does not have these protective structures. Last year, a coroner urged the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) to consider installing them following the suicide of a 12-year-old girl at the Berri-UQAM station during the morning rush hour in January 2023.
"The girl's death from the collision with the metro train could have been avoided if platform doors had been in place," Coroner Karine Spénard wrote in her investigation report. Spénard highlighted the numerous suicides in the metro over the years, noting that many coroner reports have recommended the installation of platform doors to limit access to the tracks.
“To better protect human life, I recommend that the Société de Transport de Montréal pursue its plan to install platform doors,” the report stated. Spénard also advised Quebec's transport ministry to provide the necessary funding to enable the STM to implement the safety measures across all metro stations.
Although the formal recommendation came after the young girl's death, the STM has not accelerated its plans to address the issue, despite the availability of government assistance programs that could fund the project.
The Ministère des Transports confirmed to The Montreal Standard that three public transit capital assistance programs are available, which would cover the entire cost of purchasing and installing the platform screen doors in Montreal's metro. Ministry spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun noted that financial aid for such metro development projects, including the safety barriers, has increased from 75% to 100% under the Programme d'aide gouvernementale au transport collectif des personnes.
However, an STM spokesperson explained that the agency had previously explored the platform doors project but prioritized other modernization efforts due to "difficult financial parameters" following the pandemic. Amélie Régis stated in an email that the STM has allocated $5 million to study the project "around 2032" as part of its 2024-2033 investment program.
Retrofitting every metro station would likely be a complex and costly task. While a REM spokesperson declined to disclose the cost of installing Alstom platform screen doors in its network, the STM's future study is expected to estimate the overall expense for the metro system.
When asked about the government’s financial aid programs for the platform doors project, the STM cited a broader lack of adequate funding from Quebec for maintaining its assets, which makes it challenging to advance new projects.
"The Plan québécois des infrastructures 2024-2034 (PQI) provides for $2.4 billion in investments to maintain public transport assets—the lowest level since 2013," Régis said. "These investments represent only 41% of the funds available in 2013. Our asset maintenance programs have not been included in the PQI."
Régis added that the STM's annual needs for asset maintenance, particularly for the metro, are about $560 million. Given these financial constraints, the STM has had to prioritize certain projects over others to ensure the safety of the metro network.
In July 2022, the Montreal Gazette reported that the STM had reversed plans to retrofit 13 stations on the orange line with platform screen doors, despite the province's commitment to covering 75% of the costs. This decision was made even after a coroner recommended the installation of the barriers following the death of a 20-year-old man who fell onto the tracks while intoxicated at the Cremazie station in 2020.
The 12-year-old girl's death last year was among 92 suicides in the Montreal metro over the past nine years. Statistics from the coroner’s office show a decrease in suicides, with 13 recorded in 2015 and six in 2023. However, these numbers do not account for suicide attempts or accidental deaths in the metro. The STM reported that between 2015 and 2023, there were 169 suicide attempts in the metro, and 2,010 STM employee interventions that prevented suicides between 2013 and 2023.
Cécile Bardon, a suicide prevention expert, expressed her sadness over the girl's death, emphasizing that "suicide is a preventable death that we can do something about before it happens." While Bardon acknowledged that platform screen doors could be the most effective way to prevent suicides in the metro, she also expressed reservations about the coroner’s narrow focus on this single approach.
