Montreal and Quebec City are set to get new public transit networks.
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante made the announcement Wednesday morning at city hall alongside Treasury Board President Christian Dube and junior Transport Minister Chantale Rouleau.
The funding comes due to an agreement in principle between the City of Montreal and the Quebec government to reallocate $800 million in federal funding slated for the STM to shared projects and in return, the Quebec government will help fund four transit projects in Montreal for an equivalent amount, including the transit link.
“For me, helping another city is fantastic and being able to being more for Montrealers is great,” said Plante.
The funding agreement hinged on timing, said Dube.
“There was an issue of ‘This is what we want for Quebec City’ but there was a timing issue and we said ‘it’s perfect’ because we can solve the problem in Quebec City and also give Montreal what they need to do, so that was the breakthrough. We agree in principle and now we have worked out the details in the last two months, and we’re very pleased to announce that this morning,” he said.
Montreal's new system will run along Notre Dame St. into Lachine and will connect to a tramway already planned for Montreal’s east end.
Though it was referred to in news release as a tramway, Plante said it would be up to experts to determine what form of transit will work best for the city.
Plante said she is pleased with the plan and “can’t believe it.” The network will be called the 'Pink line' following Plante's plan for a new metro Pink line.
"From the beginning, I responded to help find solutions that would make it possible to create the Quebec City tramway project, without penalizing Montrealers who have major needs for public transportation. Moving forward with this agreement in principle today, we can say ‘mission accomplished.’ The challenge of public transit funding is real for all municipalities in Quebec and is a good illustration of the need to work together to overcome it and begin a more ecological transition,” said Plante in a statement.
"I want to thank the mayor for her great collaboration and the fruitful exchanges we have had, and without which this good news would not be possible. The openness demonstrated by the City of Montreal has made it possible to break a stalemate and take an important step forward for the Quebec City transit network, which will see its financing completed,” added Dubé.
The number of stations as well as timelines has not been announced.
Plante described Wednesday's announcement as a "winning agreement" that benefits Montreal, Quebec City and the province.
"What it means is that not only did we manage to save a tramway project that was uncertain (in Quebec City), we added a new one in Montreal," she said.
- With files from The Canadian Press
