MONTREAL — The province of Quebec and city of Montreal will take over a controversial light rail project after the province’s pension-fund manager withdrew from the project, and will make major revisions to what had been a proposed C$10 billion, 20-mile system.
The Montreal Gazette reports Quebec Premier Francois Legault and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante announced the new direction for the REM de l’Est project on Monday. They said the new plan would eliminate the elevated portion in downtown Montreal, integrate the remainder with an existing Metro Line, and alter the potion in the Mercier-Est neighborhood, where residents have protested potential negative impacts.
Provincial pension manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which continues to build the separate Réseau express métropolitain light rail project which will serve other parts of the Montreal area, withdrew from the project after the regional transit authority said the REM de l’Est would be costly, visually damaging to the city, and provided no clear transit benefit.
The CBC reports Legault said elimination of the elevated portion meant the project was no longer viable for the pension fund’s infrastructure arm, CDPQ Infra. It is not yet clear how the changes will affect the price of the project or its completion date. The project originally aimed to be in operation in 2029.
Alas, this move comes too late for the Deux-Montagnes electrified heavy rail line and the Mount Royal tunnel, which are now forever lost to CDPQ Infra’s greed.