MONTREAL — With the approaching two-year closure of the Mount Royal tunnel, a key commuter rail route, Montreal transit and traffic planners are making plans to offset the resulting issues and warning commuters to do the same. On Monday, they announced free transit in an effort to minimize the number of displaced rail commuters who switch to cars.The tunnel will close on Jan. 6, 2020, as part of construction of the $6.3-billion Reseau express metropolitain, or REM, light rail project. The Montreal Gazette reports this will shut down a route used by 18,000 riders daily on two lines of the Exo commuter rail system, with the expectations that most will either drive to their destinations or use the already crowded Metro Orange subway line.
To keep at least some of those riders off the highway, local transit agency STM will offer free transit along the still-open portion of the Deux-Montagnes commuter rail line. Trains will be free between the end of the line at Deux-Montagnes and the Bois-Franc station in St.-Laurent, with shuttle buses covering the 1.8 miles between the Bois-Franc station and the connecting the rail line to the Cote-Vertu metro station. There will also be a free express bus from Deux-Montagnes directly to Montreal. Some existing bus lines will also have buses added.
Also, three Mascouche Line trains a day will be diverted around the tunnel and take a longer route to Montreal’s Central Station, thanks to an agreement between Canadian National and the Province of Quebec.
In all, the Gazette reports, the province is spending $192 million on mitigation efforts.
The REM is a major fraud. Replacing a high capacity electrified heavy rail line that is far from life-expired by a low-capacity light rail metro that is incompatible with the existing network is pure madness. The cost of these mitigation measures alone (CAD 192M) is higher than what it would have cost to add a second main track on the line. This would have resulted in a higher capacity than the REM, without any service interruption.
BOONDOGGLE.