REM controls accessible to passengers on automated train to Montreal

The owner of Montreal's new light-rail network says it is opening an investigation after a control panel cover on one of the trains was torn off, exposing all of the controls to operate the train.

The open control panel was discovered at 5:30 a.m. Friday, on board a train that left the Brossard station heading to Montreal and gave quite the shock to early-morning commuters, including Suzanne Bellefleur.

"I went to sit down and we noticed right away that there was a piece of a panel sitting on the floor next to one of the upright poles that people hold onto. And then when I looked next to the seat where I was going to sit, I saw that the control panel was totally exposed with all the buttons to drive the train, to stop the train, the windshield wipers, the horn," Bellefleur said in an interview with Noovo Info.

The control panel exposed the transmission arm, the emergency stop and the door opening button, making them accessible to all passengers. 

"It's a bit worrying because if someone wanted to commit mischief, all the controls were exposed ... Some passengers jokingly told me that we could go faster to get to work," Bellefleur said.

A control panel cover that appears to have been ripped off the front of the train lies in the middle of a car on Friday morning. (Source: Suzanne Bellefleur)

Unlike the underground Metro, there is no driver on board Montreal's new REM line. It is completely automated.

Concerned by what could have happened, Bellefleur tried to call the REM customer service line but it wasn't open at 7 a.m. so she warned officials on their Facebook page. She said she was eventually able to reach a representative on the phone.

A REM control panel. (Source: Suzanne Bellefleur)

"I [finally] spoke with customer service and they told me they were going to inform a supervisor," she said, adding that she was thanked for sharing the photos.

PASSENGERS NOT AT RISK: REM

CDPQ Infra, the firm that manages the REM, said in an email to CTV News that, "Under no circumstances is the safety of passengers put at risk" because of the incident.

Spokesperson Marc-André Tremblay said the panel has been replaced by their crew and an internal investigation is underway to understand what happened. 

"All trains are fitted with protection systems to ensure that only authorized persons can work on the trains," the email stated. "If an unauthorized person were to intervene on the controls, safety systems would be activated."

He also said the exposed panel was not a result of vandalism, but of "operation verification error."

With files from Noovo Info