Latest news with #CDPQInfra
Montreal Gazette
3 days ago
- Montreal Gazette
ARTM stops running shuttles during REM operating hours
Effective Monday, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain and CDPQ Infra ended the shuttle bus services operating along the REM route during the hours the light-rail network is running. In a statement issued on Saturday, the ARTM said the move follows a recent period of stability and reliable performance by the REM, which has been able to meet user needs effectively. The bus lines, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal and the Réseau de transport de Longueuil, which previously ran along the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge corridor, will no longer be in service during the day on weekdays. Low ridership levels on these shuttles were cited as the primary reason for their discontinuation during the day. The following bus routes will continue operating during hours when the REM is currently closed but would normally operate, from 8:20 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays and 5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekends: 568, between Gare Centrale and Île-des-Soeurs 720, between Île-des-Soeurs, Panama, Du Quartier and Brossard 721, between Gare Centrale, Du Quartier and Brossard 722, between Gare Centrale and Panama 'In recent weeks, the REM has regained a level of stability and reliability, allowing it to provide the predictability users expect,' CDPQ Infra president and CEO Jean-Marc Arbaud said in the statement. The REM shuttles started after disruptions were caused by record snowfalls in February. Further disruptions after service resumed prompted Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault to demand the shuttles keep running even when the REM was in service. The REM will continue operating weekdays only until 8 p.m. until July 4, when the system will shut down entirely for six weeks as part of network-wide testing to prepare for the launch of the Deux-Montagnes and Anse-à-l'Orme branches, scheduled for October. An exception will be made for Grand Prix weekend, June 13 to 15, when the REM will run all day and evening. On Tuesday, REM service was interrupted again for more than 30 minutes during the morning rush hour. A 'technical issue' was cited as the reason. Shuttle buses were deployed. This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 4:18 PM.
CBC
04-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
As shuttle bus service ends, transit agency says REM can be trusted
As of Monday, people commuting between downtown Montreal and the South Shore will no longer have access to shuttle buses as a plan B — and the people behind the REM say you can trust that the light-rail train service will run smoothly from now on. Since February, the transit planning agency for the greater Montreal area, known by its French acronym ARTM, had arranged for shuttle buses to run parallel to the REM due to recurring technical problems with the light-rail train that caused many delays for commuters. During that time, both the ARTM and the CDPQ Infra — the subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec that developed the REM — acknowledged that shuttle buses were a necessary backup plan because trains had become too unreliable. "Satisfying levels of stability and performance over the past few weeks allow us to efficiently meet the users' needs," the ARTM wrote in a statement this past weekend. Jean-Marc Arbaud, the president and CEO of CDPQ Infra, echoed those sentiments, adding that the REM service has become more predictable in recent weeks. The shuttle buses were operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and the Réseau de Transport de Longueuil (RTL). Here are the three shuttle buses that will no longer run: Shuttle bus 722 (RTL) between the Panama station and the Central Station in downtown Montreal. Shuttle bus 721 (STL) between the Brossard station and the Central Station. Shuttle bus 568 (STL) between the Île-des-Soeurs station and the Central Station. The REM's constant service issues drew the ire of riders as well as Doreen Asaad, the mayor of Brossard. In February, she called for bus lines 45 and 90 to be permanently re-established. The two lines transported riders over the Champlain Bridge to Montreal before the REM's non-compete clause axed them. Due to work on the REM's network, the service hours between downtown Montreal and the South Shore are restricted. Trains runs between 5:30 a.m. and about 8:40 p.m., depending on the direction. The REM is shut down on weekends. Shuttle buses will remain available after 8:40 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends.
CBC
13-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
North and west REM branches to begin carrying passengers in October
The head of CDPQ Infra, the company overseeing the construction of the Réseau express métropolitain, better known as the REM, says the north and west branches of the project will be up and running by October 2025. Jean-Marc Arbaud said in an interview with Radio-Canada that trains will begin running between Deux-Montagnes, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and downtown Montreal in March or April for testing. Later, in the summer, that testing will see the whole network shut down for six weeks, a CDPQ Infra spokesperson said on Thursday. Once that's complete, trains should begin carrying passengers along the entire REM route — except for the link to the airport — in October. Arbaud said the airport link is on track for the end of 2027. He said that the airport station is out of the control of CDPQ Infra because Aéroports de Montréal, the corporation in charge of the airport, is building it. Arbaud said the project needs about 100,000 travellers per day to be financially viable. He said that to get there, the REM will have to be reliable and fast. Arbaud said he knows it will be competitive — or faster — than the current time it takes a car to drive from one of the station's endpoints to downtown Montreal. And he said they are working on reliability. So far, snow has caused some problems. Since Dec. 1, the South Shore REM branch has had nine interruptions of 20 minutes or more, including three shutdowns within 24 hours at the beginning of February. "That's the last point we have to sort out if we are to provide a service that passengers have every right to expect," he said. "All our contractors are well aware of this, and we monitor it on a daily basis." The cost of the REM has climbed from $7 billion estimated in 2018 to now $9.4 billion. But Arbaud noted that the cost is actually about half or a third of other major public transit projects in the rest of Canada.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Yahoo
2nd REM breakdown in as many days causes headaches for Montreal commuters
A track switch issue disrupted service on Montreal's light-rail network on Tuesday morning, forcing commuters to take shuttle buses during rush hour. This was the second breakdown in two days to cause headaches for Réseau express métropolitain (REM) users. On Monday, a power supply failure led to a service interruption between 4:15 p.m. and 7 p.m., said Francis Labbé, CDPQ Infra spokesperson, in a Tuesday interview on Radio-Canada's Tout un matin. On Tuesday, it was a different problem. A track switch, also known as a turnaround point, malfunctioned at a REM station in Brossard, on Montreal's South Shore. "We had to move the trains manually, which takes much longer," explained Labbé. Service resumed later in the morning after a shut down that lasted several hours, but not without causing delays for many passengers. Commuters had to line up to board the shuttle buses to get to and from the South Shore. Labbé said these recurring issues won't drive users away, and he added the system's reliability has improved significantly over the past year. "Compared to last year, we now have only a third of the breakdowns we experienced back then. So, the systems and infrastructure are maturing," he said. No choice but to ride REM Those commuters relying on public transit to cross the St. Lawrence River actually have no choice but to ride the REM when it is operational. That's because the express bus, which used to use bus lanes on the Champlain Bridge, no longer runs. There is a non-competition clause that prevents buses from other transit networks from crossing the Champlain Bridge, something that has frustrated many users since the REM began operations in 2023. Teams will work to determine the cause of Monday's electrical issue, Labbé said. "It's a case-by-case situation. Various hypotheses are being considered, and each incident must be studied to better understand what is happening," he said. The solutions found will be integrated into the maintenance plan, he said. Two delays this week are some of many speed bumps the new transit service has hit since launching. Even the opening of the $6.9-billion light-rail network was delayed. Switches have malfunctioned before Malfunctioning railway switches have been a problem since the first official rush-hour commute on Aug. 21, 2023, with service stopping twice on a Monday morning. By the fall, more complaints emerged as passengers faced delays. For example, on Halloween in 2023, Chambly, Que., resident Taissia Philipovich was among the passengers trapped for an hour in a stalled wagon. "We were so many people in the train, with winter jackets. It was stuffy. The air wasn't there," she said shortly after the incident. The REM has been making efforts to communicate better and faster with passengers before and during outages, even sending out text alerts when it happens to those who sign up for the phone service. More recently, passengers have been relying on bus shuttles during planned service stoppages. This is due to network testing as the REM prepares to open more of its service throughout Montreal. For all of January there were late openings and early closures on the weekend. The entire network will be shut down on weekends through most weekends of February through June, the REM says on its will be early network closures during the week throughout the spring and into the summer. In July and August, the service will be completely shut down most of the time. More information can be found on the REM's website.
CBC
04-02-2025
- CBC
Track switch issue disrupts morning REM service, forcing rush-hour commuters onto buses
A track switch issue disrupted service on Montreal's light-rail network on Tuesday morning, forcing commuters to take shuttle buses during rush hour. This was the second breakdown in two days to cause headaches for Réseau express métropolitain (REM) users. On Monday, a power supply failure led to a service interruption between 4:15 p.m. and 7 p.m., said Francis Labbé, CDPQ Infra spokesperson, in a Tuesday interview on Radio-Canada's Tout un matin. On Tuesday, it was a different problem. A track switch, also known as a turnaround point, malfunctioned at a REM station in Brossard, on Montreal's South Shore. "We had to move the trains manually, which takes much longer," explained Labbé. Service resumed later in the morning after a shut down that lasted several hours, but not without causing delays for many passengers. Commuters had to line up to board the shuttle buses to get to and from the South Shore. Labbé said these recurring issues won't drive users away, and he added the system's reliability has improved significantly over the past year. "Compared to last year, we now have only a third of the breakdowns we experienced back then. So, the systems and infrastructure are maturing," he said. No choice but to ride REM Those commuters relying on public transit to cross the St. Lawrence River actually have no choice but to ride the REM when it is operational. That's because the express bus, which used to use bus lanes on the Champlain Bridge, no longer runs. There is a non-competition clause that prevents buses from other transit networks from crossing the Champlain Bridge, something that has frustrated many users since the REM began operations in 2023. Teams will work to determine the cause of Monday's electrical issue, Labbé said. "It's a case-by-case situation. Various hypotheses are being considered, and each incident must be studied to better understand what is happening," he said. The solutions found will be integrated into the maintenance plan, he said. Two delays this week are some of many speed bumps the new transit service has hit since launching. Even the opening of the $6.9-billion light-rail network was delayed. Switches have malfunctioned before Malfunctioning railway switches have been a problem since the first official rush-hour commute on Aug. 21, 2023, with service stopping twice on a Monday morning. By the fall, more complaints emerged as passengers faced delays. For example, on Halloween in 2023, Chambly, Que., resident Taissia Philipovich was among the passengers trapped for an hour in a stalled wagon. "We were so many people in the train, with winter jackets. It was stuffy. The air wasn't there," she said shortly after the incident. The REM has been making efforts to communicate better and faster with passengers before and during outages, even sending out text alerts when it happens to those who sign up for the phone service. More recently, passengers have been relying on bus shuttles during planned service stoppages. This is due to network testing as the REM prepares to open more of its service throughout Montreal. For all of January there were late openings and early closures on the weekend. The entire network will be shut down on weekends through most weekends of February through June, the REM says on its will be early network closures during the week throughout the spring and into the summer.
