The REM will be completely underground in Montreal

Originally, the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) branch to Cégep Marie-Victorin included a seven-kilometer tunnel under Lacordaire Avenue before returning to the roof another kilometer in Montreal.

However, due to the presence of a pipeline, aqueduct and hydro-Quebec lines in the same place where REM was due to appear from the ground, the infrastructure company of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) finally decided to continue the tunnel route to the terminal , Now planned a few hundred meters from CEGEP.

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The dotted line corresponds to the REM section to be made in the tunnel.

Photo: Courtesy: CDPQ Infra

This change should allow to avoid the many confiscations in the Place Bourassa shopping center area. It should also ensure the construction of the Montreal-Nord station at the intersection of Avenue de la Concorde and Henri Burrassa, to replace the planned station on Rue Roland.

In contrast to the city center […], In Montreal-North, we can keep the tunnel at a good depth without having to encounter the problematic buried infrastructureExplains Virginie Cousino, CDPQ Infra’s Director of Public Affairs.

This is why we’ve been able to set the course while staying inside the budget envelope., And she adds.

The cost of the Eastern Reem Line, which will be 32 kilometers long and will include 23 stations, is estimated at $ 10 billion. It is scheduled to open in 2029.

An aerial structure over Rene Levesque

Virginie Coseno reiterates that REM will not be able to run the tunnels under René-Levesque Boulevard, between Robert Burasa and de Lorimier.

The stakes are too many, too cumulative, and too important for us to embark on this adventure.

The solution chosen was an aerial solution in the city center, but the work of the Committee of Independent Experts will allow us to obtain an ideal solution.Ms. Cosino confirms.

These experts will also be presented to the media on Tuesday afternoon during a press conference in the presence of the Minister of Transport of Quebec in charge of the Metropolis, Chantal Rollo, and the mayor of Montreal, Valerie Blunt.

Virginie Cousino, Director of Public Affairs at CDPQ Infra

Photo: Radio Canada

Over the next few months, the committee will share its recommendations with the architects and engineers at CDPQDepository and Placement Fund of Quebec. So that we can develop the best project architectural signature and also ensure the best urban integration., Mrs. Cousineau specifies.

Launching public consultations

At the same time, citizens will have their say, starting next week.

Until the end of June, there will be three informational sessions and six virtual consultation sessions. It will be an opportunity for Montreal residents to give their opinion on the project and offer their suggestions.

For us, it is very important to listen, because we are at the beginning of planning. Therefore, it is possible to make improvements to the project within the next two years, as we will enter the construction phase in just two years.Virginie Cousino concludes.