Réseau express métropolitain

On 13 January 2015, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Michael Sabia, CEO of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), agreed to a partnership in which the Crown corporation could assume financing for major transportation projects in the province, with $7.4 billion planned to be spent on infrastructure from 2014 to 2024.

On 22 April 2016, Sabia and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre unveiled the project, then known as the Réseau électrique métropolitain, to the media. A completion date for a first portion of the system was put forward for December 2020. On 22 June 2016, CDPQ Infra published two requests for qualification: one for the engineering, procurement and construction contract and the other for the rolling stock, systems, operation, and maintenance. The estimated value of the two contracts are $4 billion and $1.5 billion respectively.[5]

On 25 November 2016, CDPQ Infra announced the addition of three new stations to the project. The Central Station, McGill, and Édouard-Montpetit stations will significantly improve downtown Montreal service, and further integrate the REM into the Metro system through fluid and efficient connections to the Orange, Green and Blue lines. The announcement will adjust the price tag of the entire project to a total $5.9 billion.[6][7]

On 15 June 2017, the Government of Canada pledged $1.28 billion to finance the project,[8] thus completely securing the financial portion of the REM. On the same day, Sabia announced that construction on the project was to start at the end of 2017. On 1 December 2017, the CDPQ extended the tender process on the project to the end of January 2018, citing a need for additional discussions with the bidders.[9]

The REM will use automated Alstom Metropolis trains, similar to the ones built for the Sydney Metro.

The primary route is based around the Mount Royal Tunnel, where new underground stations are being built to connect with the existing McGill and Édouard-Montpetit Metro stations. New connections with commuter rail will be built near the A-40 to the Mascouche line.

Southeast from Central Station, the line will follow existing rail lines past Cité du Havre and across to Nuns' Island and then use a rail deck constructed on the new Champlain Bridge to cross the St. Lawrence. Three stations in Brossard on the South Shore are being built: Panama, Du Quartier (for the DIX30 commercial district), and Rive-Sud; and one station, Chevrier, is part of future plans.

The northwest branch will be a direct conversion of the existing Deux-Montagnes line, with the doubling of the tracks beyond Bois-Franc station. On the West Island, new branch routes off the northwest branch will begin near the A-13, with the airport branch making a stop in Technoparc St-Laurent before terminating at Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and the other branch will follow an existing rail corridor through Pointe-Claire and Kirkland before it ends in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.

In the city centre, three stations are being built to interconnect with existing Metro lines; McGill will connect with the Green Line,[7] Édouard-Montpetit will connect with the Blue Line,[7] and Bonaventure Gare Centrale will connect with the Orange Line.

REM system and stations

The REM will consist of 26 stations on three branches. Twelve of these stations are currently on the Deux-Montagnes line and will become part of the REM after being converted to rapid transit standards. Several have received new names since the project's inception.[20]

South Shore and Central section (all branches)

Station	Opening for REM	Opened	Parking spots	Connections
Brossard	2021	N/A	Unknown	RTL, Exo
Du Quartier	2021		None[21]	RTL
Panama	2021		Unknown	Terminus Brossard-Panama; RTL and Exo
Île-des-Soeurs	2021		None	STM
Griffintown–Bernard-Landry	2023		None	STM
Central Station	2021	1943	None	, Amtrak, Mont-Saint-Hilaire line, Bonaventure Downtown Terminus (Terminus RTL), Société de transport de Montréal (STM) 150, 355, 358, 410, 430, 465, 480 (Express), 715, 747 (Express), 36, 61, 168, 420 (on University Street), 74 (on rue de la Gauchetière), 107 (on Peel Street)[22]
McGill	2022	1966	None	McGill, STM 15, 35, 61, 125, 168, 358, 420
Édouard-Montpetit	2022	1988	None	Édouard-Montpetit, STM 51, 119, 368
Canora	2022	1918	None	STM 92 on Jean Talon Street, 160 (less than 200 metres or 220 yards south at Wilderton Ave. / Bates Rd. east bound & Wilderton Ave. / Barclay St. west bound[23]), 372 on Jean Talon Street
Ville-de-Mont-Royal	2022	1918	None	STM 16, 119, 165, 435
Côte-de-Liesse	2022	N/A	None	Mascouche line
Montpellier	2022	1918	None	STM
Du Ruisseau	2022	1994	1,060	STM, STL
Bois-Franc	2023	1994	740	STM, STL

In a report prepared by the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) and released on 20 January 2017, the project was criticized. In the words of journalist Denis Lessard, "the BAPE poured cold water" on the project.[27]

Notably, the BAPE pointed to a lack of crucial information being provided on the project's financial model, environmental impact, and impact on ridership levels throughout public transit networks around Montreal. Without such information, the BAPE declared that it was "premature to authorize the realization of this project".[28]

The BAPE also estimated that CDPQ Infra did not meet its obligations for transparency, as it had failed to provide information in a timely fashion on the ridership levels of the REM's three antennaes (route branches).[28]

The CDPQ Infra was also reproached for not studying the impact of the REM on existing public transit authorities.[28] CDPQ Infra was criticized for not being able to answer questions like how much tickets would cost, whether municipalities on the REM would themselves have to pay for the necessary infrastructure for access to it, and whether municipalities also have to contribute to the REM's operation.[28]

A lawsuit filed by Coalition Climat further alleged that the REM project violated federalism for a lack of federal assessment that harmed citizens' environmental rights by contributing to noise pollution and urban heat islands. The lawsuit was dismissed by the Quebec Superior Court on 13 December 2017.[29]

Another controversy occurred in November 2019, when Montreal mayor Valerie Plante proposed naming Griffintown's REM station after controversial politician Bernard Landry, sparking a backlash from the city's Irish community.[30]

On May 20, 2019, the Quebec provincial government announced that they had requested CDPQi to study two REM extensions. The government had also made a request to determine the best electrical transit system to be put in place for the Montreal East Island, with the possibility of it being a new REM line.[31] The federal government also requested the Canadian Infrastructure Bank study a possible extension of the REM to Dorval train station.[32] The city of Montreal requested two stations instead of one station at Bassin Peel.[33] Mayor Valérie Plante announced funding for the West branch of the "Pink Line".[34] This branch would be a continuation of a REM line, if it is the technology chosen by the CPDQi.

• Official website
• Presentation of the project on the CDPQ Infra website