Quebec greenlights tramway project in eastern Montreal
Quebec's Transport Minister says the government is going ahead with a tramway to replace the contentious REM de l'Est project, broadening public transit options for commuters from the eastern tip of the island of Montreal.
Geneviève Guilbault made the announcement at a news conference at the Repentigny, Que., city hall this morning.
The projected route would bring riders through the east end of the city into Montréal Est and Repentigny, Que., a suburb east of the city. It would also connect to the STM's Blue and Green Metro lines and to the Mascouche line of the Exo commuter train.
The tram will be developed by Quebec's new transport agency Mobilité Infra Québec, becoming its first project. It's expected to cost more than $18 billion.
Repentigny Mayor Nicolas Dufour, who joined Guilbault at the news conference, said his residents have been waiting for real public transit options for nearly 40 years.
"My citizens lose about an hour, an hour-and-a-half to go to Montreal to work every morning — same for the students. So, for the first time we're going to have a real and true alternative to single-occupancy vehicles," Dufour said on CBC Montreal's Daybreak earlier Wednesday morning.
Dufour said he'd like to see more bus lines, in the meantime, but that they get stuck in traffic like every other vehicle when going to Montreal.
"There's nothing much we can do because we only have one way to go to Montreal and it's stuck every morning. So it's truly necessary that the project moves fast and we construct the tramway the fastest that we can," he said.
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