Réseau express métropolitain

CDPQ Infra Provides Update on Montreal’s REM

Nearly six weeks after Réseau express métropolitain’s (REM) first segment was inaugurated in Montreal, CDPQ Infra on Sept. 13 provided an update on the automated rail network it is developing—from operations so

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

Alstom-Led Consortium Inaugurates First Montreal REM Segment

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.

Amtrak’s Adirondack train between New York and Montreal will now terminate at Albany-Rensselaer. The move comes just three months after the Adirondack restarted. It had been discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, East-West Rail, REM, SkyTrain

Service on Amtrak’s New York City-Montreal Adirondack train is suspended north of Albany, N.Y. Also, east-west passenger rail projects in Palmer and Pittsfield, Mass., will advance with the addition of $12 million in the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) newest capital investment plan; final pre-commissioning starts this month for the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) between Brossard and Gare Centrale stations; and the launch of SkyTrain’s new Capstan Station in metro Vancouver has been delayed.

Amtrak is awarding 11 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students, who have “an active interest in the railroad industry.”

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, NYMTA, City of Montreal, TransLink

Applications are now being accepted for Amtrak’s scholarship program. Also, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unveils a strategic action plan to improve bike, pedestrian, and micromobility access at and near its facilities; city of Montreal advances the Western Link Kirkland project, providing access to the Prairies River and a new Réseau express métropolitain (REM) train station; and metro Vancouver’s TransLink fully integrates contactless Interac Debit payments systemwide.

Réseau express métropolitain (REM) has revised its network commissioning schedule due to continued challenges with work on the century-old Mount Royal Tunnel in Montreal. (Photograph Courtesy of REM)

Transit Briefs: GCRTA, Metra/CTA/Pace, REM, STM

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) has joined the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Racial Equity Commitment Pilot Program. Also, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and Pace Suburban Bus have approved a new Regional Connect Pass for area riders; Réseau express métropolitain (REM) has revised its network commissioning schedule due to continued challenges with work on the century-old Mount Royal Tunnel in Montreal; and STM’s (Société de transport de Montréal) C$492.3 million Côte-Vertu underground train storage facility has officially opened.

Alstom is supplying REM with not only 212 vehicles (106 trains) based its Metropolis platform, but also its automated and driverless Urbalis 400 communication-based train control (CBTC) system, an Alstom Iconis control center, as well as platform screen doors and depot equipment.

Standoff Amputates REM Eastern Leg

Public opposition to the notion of a railway on stilts slicing through downtown Montreal has killed a key portion of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) commuter network to be constructed, and directly operated for profit by the province’s public pension fund.

Montreal’s REM Airport Station Project Advancing

Transport Canada (TC) has reported that C$500 million (US$398.95 million) in new government investments are slated for the construction of a Réseau express métropolitain (REM) station at the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.

First Look: REM Light Rail Vehicle for Montreal

The project office of Montreal’s automated light rail network, Réseau express métropolitain (REM), has officially unveiled the first four light rail vehicles. The 67-km (41.6-mile) network is expected to begin partial service in 2022 with full operation in 2024 with 26 stations, connecting downtown Montreal to the South Shore, North Shore, West Island and Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.

En voiture! Montreal REM on the move

Montreal’s futuristic, for-profit passenger railway system, Réseau express métropolitain (REM), moved from concept to concrete Feb. 8 with the award of $C6.3 billion of construction contracts by its owner-operator, Caisse de dépot et placement, Quebec’s huge public pension fund.