REM de l’Est: City will have input
Chantal Rouleau has softened her tone on the REM de l’Est a little, saying she remains optimistic the project will go ahead, a bit of a shift from ordering the ARTM to redo its homework, as she did last week. She also says, and this seems rather late in the game, that she will bend to allowing the city to have input.
ant6n 05:26 on 2022-02-15 Permalink
If the city gets to have some input now, maybe some public experts (not CDPQInfra) can study some options. For example, make a comparison with the Pink Line, or a combination of Pink Line and REM2.
ant6n 02:44 on 2022-02-16 Permalink
Now Rouleau is unhappy with the libs because they didn’t want a motion that rem2 is super important https://twitter.com/rouleauchantal/status/1493690542386987008
Faiz Imam 13:16 on 2022-02-16 Permalink
If the plan is to have an elevated line, the current route is about as good as you can get. Some small adjustments can be made, but on the whole there is no magic route that solves peoples critiques,
But that underlines the real point, which is that the much superior solution is to have a true underground heavy rail line, like the initial pink like proposals pushed for.
But the budgets don’t exist for that under the current government, and a heavy rail system cannot be compatible with the REMs existing stock and equipment.
I don’t know what the answer is, a ugly compromise that big business supports? or do we cancel it in favor of a superior plan that might never actually happen?
Speaking of not happening, whats up with the blue line extension these days?
Kate 15:01 on 2022-02-16 Permalink
Faiz Imam, good question about the progress of the blue line. I try to add updates on that story to this page, but the latest story I have is from last October on the progress of the Lacordaire station and I can’t find anything more recent.
ant6n 18:30 on 2022-02-16 Permalink
Not sure I get the point about “heavy rail” compatibility. That term has do many possible definitions that it’s effectively meaningless. Arguably the pink line proposal included “lighter” rolling stock than rem1 (by train width).