REM delayed: Stations in West Island, North Shore now opening in 2025
Officials for Montreal's REM confirmed that the lines to the West Island and the North Shore are being delayed and won't open until 2025.
The Deux-Montagnes and Anse-à-l'Orme stations were supposed to be open in 2024, but on Wednesday Charles Emond, president and chief executive officer of CDPQ, and Jean-Marc Arbaud, President and chief executive officer of CDPQ Infra, said the opening dates are being pushed back.
The delays were first reported by Radio-Canada on Wednesday.
When asked by MNAs at the Quebec legislature earlier in the day, Philippe Batani, executive vice-president of public affairs, communications and strategy at CDPQ Infra, would only say, "the only thing I can say is it won't be in 2024."
The light-rail system's builder blamed complex work in the Mount Royal tunnel. It's still trying to modernize century-old infrastructure and add 600 kilometres of electrical lines.
"The first criteria for me is the safety of the system and the reliability of the system. If they need more time to make more trials of the system before it is in operation I think it's the right thing to do," said Genevieve Guilbault, Quebec's transport minister.
The first branch of the REM opened last July, but it came after multiple delays and a ballooning price tag. The latest projection put it at nearly $8 billion — $1.6billion more than the original cost.
Opposition MNAs in Quebec City were putting the REM builder in the hot seat.
"You can have a great plan but if you don’t execute properly, you’re going to have issues — that’s where we’re at," Quebec Liberal Party MNA Frédéric Beauchemin.
"Is CDPQ Infra the right player to develop collective transport?" asked Parti Québécois MNA Joël Arsenault.
With a number of breakdowns and trip delays, the opposition worries that some people won't be along for the ride.
"It doesn’t inspire confidence and that’s a shame and that’s a big issue," said Alexandre Leduc of Quebec Solidaire.
Technical tests on the new lines are scheduled to begin in the next few weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.