REM de l’est: City on hook for $500M
The city will be expected to pay for the work needed around the REM de l’est: reorganizing and repaving streets and other infrastructure stuff, as well as anything needed to keep the elevated track from becoming a new Crémazie-type scar on the city. The bill is estimated here as half a billion, so we know it will be at least twice that.
Daniel D 09:29 on 2021-05-07 Permalink
Clearly nobody learnt anything from the controversies of the first REM project except to roll over and accept the inevitable.
Mark 13:44 on 2021-05-07 Permalink
This is ridiculous. They are trying to force a one size fits all solution to transit. Despite all its shortcomings (expropriating the tunnel and existing tracks, stations in the middle of nowhere in the WI, etc.), you “could” make the argument that the layout of the first iteration of the REM “sort of” works: A suburban train, elevated and on the ground, in low to medium density neighbourhoods. Notice the extensive use of quotation marks.
This is the model, now we need to use it everywhere, regardless of whether that form of transit is actually suited for the part of the city it is trying to serve.
The opportunity cost of the REM de l’Est 10B price tag (12B/15B) is looking really high…that’s 10+ metro stations, 50+ km of tram or a lot of rapid buses.
DisgruntledGoat 14:03 on 2021-05-07 Permalink
You make fair points about the opportunity costs Mark, but where’s the beef?
The STM has had the Pie-IX rapid bus corridor project in the works since 2010 at least. Where’s the result?
The blue extension was proposed in 2013 and won’t be done until 2026…13 years assuming no delays.
Kate 17:21 on 2021-05-07 Permalink
DisgruntledGoat, the city has been waiting on provincial money forever to complete the blue line extension, which has been in the works a lot longer than 2013 – I have a timeline of the evolutions.
That’s why this situation is so bad for the city: it spent money on endless studies on the blue line, waiting and waiting. And then the Caisse comes up with the REM and suddenly money gushes out. And then I see people saying, well, Quebec had to do something, since the city never got its act together.
But there’s probably a room at city hall stacked to the ceiling with expensive studies which were all Quebec would give money for, till it spawned its own idea, a transit system that’s meant to generate profit for the Caisse, whereas the STM is a service rather than a profit-making venture.
david675 00:17 on 2021-05-08 Permalink
The key thing for the government these days, which runs against Metro expansion, is that it’s unlikely they’ll fund anything that isn’t automated.
Mark 08:57 on 2021-05-08 Permalink
As much as I would prefer seeing transit being developed by experts and not money managers, I think it’s fair to assume that the funding model in Montreal won’t change any time soon. I do agree with DisgruntledGoat, it’s clear that if we take the REM off the table, it’s not like 10B suddenly appear for metros and buses. So maybe opportunity cost isn’t the right term, because that money would have never materialized for an STM project.
So yay for investment that we would have never seen.
However, this article reinforces the key flaw of the model: the Caisse needs a solid ROI. They are prepared to spend X, no more. So if construction costs go up (which they are dramatically right now) or if ridership isn’t high enough (WFH), those gaps have to be filled by others, either by asking them to pay to finish stations, pay higher royalties, and so on.
Various levels of government end up having to spend billions on a project it doesn’t even own. Oh look, we found the money.
Ant6n 14:55 on 2021-05-10 Permalink
The caisse demands 10% return, higher share of the profits etc supposedly because they on the risk. That’s a lie, they try to push away cost increases any chance they get