Cerf's Up! Deer finds its way onto elevated West Island REM line tracks

No trains are running yet on the West Island portion of the light rail REM line, but a deer found its way onto the track on Friday for a rip.

The deer was spotted on the elevated portion of the tracks in Kirkland on Montreal’s West Island near St-Charles Boulevard.

The REM station in Kirkland is 24 metres above street level.

CDPQ Infra, which runs the REM, said no cars were circulating on the track on Friday and the wires on the tracks are not yet electrified.

“Our builder’s employees are in contact with Animal Rescue to make sure the animal gets back to a green space,” said CDPQ Infra spokesperson Francis Labbe. “The target is to direct the deer towards Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue where it will get back to nature.”

Labbe later said that Quebec Environment Ministry staff captured the deer to return it to its natural habitat. 

He said crews discovered that a part of a fence was broken by a fallen tree and the animal may have gotten onto the tracks there. 

"The breach has also been repaired," he said.

The completion date for the West Island portion of the REM was pushed back to 2025 earlier this year.