The schedule for commissioning the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is hit by a new postponement, while the complexity of the work in the Mont-Royal tunnel means that the Deux-Montagnes and Anse- à l’Orme will not be open by the end of the year as planned.
Posted at 7:51 a.m.
In an update on the work published Wednesday, the REM explained that “highly complex” work must continue to modernize the Mont-Royal tunnel, a century-old infrastructure that passes under the mountain.
Thus, technical tests in this segment still cannot begin, which means that the commissioning of phase 2 of the network, which should connect the North Shore, Laval and the west of the island to the center- city of Montreal, will not be done at the end of 2024 as planned.
In its update, the REM did not specify the new timetable, simply saying that the opening date of phase 2 is “to come”. According to Radio-Canada, which was the first media to report this news on Wednesday morning, commissioning would not be planned for the first months of 2025 either.
Before being able to begin testing in the tunnel, REM teams must still install systems such as terminals, sensors and 600 km of electrical cables.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Mount Royal tunnel
The REM team ensures that workers are on the ground “day and night, 7 days a week” to maintain the pace of work in the tunnel.
Technical tests will still begin “in the coming weeks” on the segment between Deux-Montagnes and Sainte-Dorothée stations and will gradually extend to the entire network over the summer.
The commissioning of the REM was marked by numerous postponements. Only one branch is currently in service, the one linking downtown Montreal to Brossard, on the South Shore, which welcomed its first passengers last summer.
