Alstom-Led Consortium Inaugurates First Montreal REM Segment

Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor

First trip across the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge | July 2022. Photo ©Thierry Du Bois

Groupe des partenaires pour la mobilité des Montréalais (Groupe PMM), a consortium led by Alstom, recently participated in the inauguration hosted by its customer CPDQ Infra, of the first segment of Réseau express métropolitain (REM), a new automated urban rail system that connects Brossard on Montreal’s South Shore with Montreal’s Central Station.

According to Alstom, upon completion, REM will be one of the world’s largest automated transport networks—67 kilometers long (41.6 miles) with 26 stations—connecting downtown Montreal to the South Shore, the North Shore, the West Island and Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. It will provide rapid service with trains arriving every 3 minutes 45 seconds during peak hours and operate 20 hours a day.

According to the consortium, Groupe PMM provided REM with a complete driverless, automated metro system, including rolling stock and signaling, and will operate and maintain the entire 67-kilometer system for 30 years. The first segment, between Brossard and Montreal’s Central Station, spans 17 kilometers and includes five stations equipped with a system of platform screen doors installed by Alstom—a first in Quebec. Eighty Metropolis metro cars will be operated on this segment, which will enter commercial service on July 31, according to Alstom.

The event was held in the presence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier of Quebec François Legault, Mayor of Montreal Valérie Plante, President and CEO of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CPDQ) Charles Émond, CDPQ Infra CEO Jean-Marc Arbaud, Alstom Chairman and CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Alstom President of the Americas Region Chairman Michael Keroullé, and Groupe PMM Director Jean-Michel Morvan.

“Today marks the formal launch of our signature REM project, said CPDQ CEO Charles Émond. “It is the first phase of a network that will transform sustainable mobility, catalyze new community developments in the Greater Montreal and have a significant economic impact for Québec as a whole. Led by the team at CDPQ Infra, alongside our partners, this has been a tremendous collaborative effort and we are thrilled to launch a world-class automated urban rail system that will benefit Quebecers for generations to come.”

***Alstom Chairman and CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge***

“We are extremely proud today with our partners to participate in the inauguration of the REM in Montreal,” said Alstom Chairman and CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge. “This project is a great showcase for demonstrating Alstom’s leadership to serve its customers from A to Z, bringing together its undisputable integrated turnkey and services leadership and expertise.”

“The REM not only provides the Greater Montreal Area with an additional sustainable transportation option to connect its communities, but also is a showcase for the latest in efficient and digital mobility technology in Quebec and Alstom world-renowned expertise,” said Alstom President of the Americas Region Michael Keroullé. “I want to thank our talented employees who delivered high-quality, latest generation of rail mobility equipment and who will oversee the operation and maintenance of a system that will change the way we are moving people in the Greater Montreal Area.”

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