REM light-rail line celebrates a year of connecting Montreal to the South Shore

Wednesday will mark one year since the first branch of the REM (Réseau express métropolitain) light-rail network opened, connecting Brossard on the South Shore to downtown Montreal.

Though there were some bumps to start with, the REM was plagued by service breakdowns, leaving some passengers stranded and forced to walk to the next station.

"One time I got stuck and we had to wait a couple of hours," said user Serena Mirzada. "Other than that, it's great. It even has Wi-Fi."

As complaints of poor communications mounted, REM officials pledged to do better.

CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec) Infra manages the REM and said service interruptions of 20 minutes or longer have dropped significantly.

"We see, beginning in March, a great improvement," said CDPQ Infra director of communications Michelle Lamarche.

While many in Brossard say the REM has improved their commute to the city, some are still waiting for the rest of the network to open.

Stations in the north and west of the island won't be operational until 2025 though the REM won't commit to an exact date, as engineering challenges in the tunnel through Mount Royal remain.

"We'll need to do the dynamic testing everywhere," said Lamarche. "We'll need to go in the tunnel, and then we'll have a better idea and we'll be able to communicate with the everyone."

NouvLR workers inspect walls in the Mount Royal tunnel as construction progresses for the Reseau express metropolitain (REM) electric light rail system in Montreal, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Christinne Muschi, The Canadian Press)

In Saint-Laurent, borough mayor Alan DeSousa hopes the REM will iron out any issues before it gets to his community.

"If there are lessons to be learned from the deployment of the REM on the South Shore to downtown, well, that's learn from that," he said.

One such lesson is noise.

Faced with complaints from Montreal's southwest neighbourhoods, the REM added additional noise mitigation measures.

The REM plans to carry out those measures on the remaining network.

"We are able, if we see problems, to put corrections in place like we did on the South Shore," said Lamarche.

DeSousa would like to see a plan.

"The REM is going to be very close to homes," he said. "So we would like the REM to recognize up front, these issues should be addressed and should be addressed in the most proactive way, with the maximum of measures, as opposed to a 'Let's wait and see' attitude."

For DeSousa, the hope is that the next REM chapter will start off smoother and quieter than the first.