Big lines form at REM elevators
The designers of the REM underestimated demand for the elevators at Édouard‑Montpetit REM station, because long lines of passengers are forming at rush hours.
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anton 10:39 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
le sigh
Joey 11:50 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
Gotta love the REM operators response – actually, it’s not a big deal (LOL) but also we’re exploring fixes (LOL). The number of elevators is fixed. The speed of the elevators is fixed. The capacity of the elevators is fixed.
Ian 14:01 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
“Exploring fixes” is sometimes code for “waiting for people to give up”
azrhey 14:14 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
In related news, I take the REM at Montpellier 3x a week at 8am and it is very VERY full, I sometimes have to let one or two trains pass because it is jam packed. I cannot see how this is going to be when the other arm of the REM opens later this year with even more people…. someone somewhere underestimated the ridership by orders of magnitude, me thinks…
Nicholas 14:15 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
They always had a suburban mentality for this project so didn’t consider that dense areas like UdeM and Griffintown would get lots of usage, and figured only downtown.
There are some deep elevator stations in London, like Covent Garden, where they encourage people to use an adjacent station during busy periods. No option for that here.
CE 15:58 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
@azrhey how often are trains coming at peak periods?
roberto 16:00 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
Let’s give Anton a real collective hug. He did exactly what we ask people to do: he paid attention, did the math, showed up, and spoke up. The organizers heard him loud and clear—and promptly ignored him.
The REM planning numbers never added up, unless the plan was “hope for the best and silence the critics.” And surprise: it’s only going to get worse. I’m genuinely relieved I’m far away from the REM network. I might eventually try to take it to the airport, if that ever happens.
CE 17:00 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
Maybe they just didn’t notice that there’s a university nearby.
Joey 17:18 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
@roberto +1000
As someone who has followed the REM saga since day one, I was still surprised to see how short the platforms are the first time I used it. Like, what, 40-50% as long as a Metro platform.
I think the planners also underestimated how great the REM could be for Outremont, TMR and VSL residents who currently have a long transit ride to downtown. If you live within a 20-minute walk or (ideally bus) ride from Edouard-Montpetit, the REM is probably your fastest route downtown. I’m sure the planners assumed that station would be a destination, but I suspect it will become a popular embarkment point for Outremont and Mile-End residents headed downtown. Maybe they’ll make it free if you agree to use the stairs…
Ian 19:08 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
Depending where you live in Mile End I’m pretty sure just making your way to the Outremont, Laurier, or Rosemont stations will be just as fast and probably better as there are lots of places to be downtown, Atwater to Saint Denis, Viger to Sherbrooke… but only REM stations at McGill and Gare Centrale. The time you save on such a short run on the REM will be wasted in the extra walking time unless you are fortunate enough to work within 5 blocks of one of the stations.
CE 19:38 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
If it’s already busy now, wait until the airport connection opens! I mapped it in Google Maps and the walk from St-Viateur Bagel to the Édouard-Montpetit station is less than half an hour. Not too much more than the walk to Laurier or Rosemont stations and then you’re right to the airport (rather than a few stations on the orange line, a long transfer at Jean-Talon then 5 more stations to the REM transfer). In fact, pretty much anyone who lives on the blue line and anyone on the northern ends of the orange line are going to go to Édouard-Montpetit to get on the airport train. The station is going to be way over capacity, if it isn’t already.
Kevin 20:44 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
Didn’t we discuss this years ago, saying that replacing a line that takes 30,000 passengers per day with a train that can take 700 or 800 was kinda silly? Even if the train come every 4 minutes instead of every 20 or 30?
The REM is going to have to hire train-stuffers from Japan
DeWolf 22:45 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
At the risk of getting labelled a shill for the CDPQ, I’d like to point out that the REM is running at half frequency until the West Island branch opens. It’s currently running at 10 minutes off-peak and ~5 minutes peak, but the target frequency after full opening is meant to be 5 minutes off peak and 2.5 minutes peak.
Ian 22:57 on 2026-01-14 Permalink
Even so, that has nothing to do with elevators…
And as Joey points out, the shorter platforms – those imply the idea that the planners anticipated passenger loads to be evenly distributed over time, so if you have 50% capacity at 2x frequency that all works out… on paper, anyhow.
Bottlenecks are always going to be an issue in public transport but that we are seeing obvious, unfixable bottlenecks already is not a good sign.
Joey 00:24 on 2026-01-15 Permalink
DeWolf, that’s precisely the point. If the *elevators* are beyond capacity now, they’ll be royally screwed when frequency doubles. Is there even enough space down there to handle the overflow? At a certain point you’d have to reduce frequency or have certain trains skip that station.
Ian, the 51-to-REM option is much more pleasant than the metro (unless you get trapped waiting for an elevator lol). The 51 comes frequently all day and is only crowded at rush hour, and the underground portion of the trip is about five minutes long – though you do want to be headed near McGill or Bonaventure (where transfers to either metro line are easy). Also: the REM is quiet and clean, for now… geez now I sound like a shill for CDPQ…
Ian 08:55 on 2026-01-15 Permalink
No, those are fair points. It’s definitely going to be faster than say, taking the 80 to the green line.
CE 09:41 on 2026-01-15 Permalink
It takes time for people’s travel patterns to change but I can see commuters gradually realizing that a short bus ride or walk to the REM to get downtown is a better option than a bus ride to the orange or green line. Not everyone works near McGill or Bonaventure but it’s right in the centre of downtown town so a lot of people do (or work within a short walk). For students in Mile End/Outremont who need to get to McGill or parts of the UQAM campus (or even Concordia, the walk isn’t too bad), the REM is a great option.
All of this is why not having enough elevators is going to be a huge problem that will only get worse.
MarcG 10:10 on 2026-01-15 Permalink
Speed up the elevators and give the Orbite at La Ronde some competition.
Seriously, though, this makes me sad. I suck at measure-twice-cut-once but the stakes are much lower when I’m hanging a curtain rod. Really makes you wonder what other blunders are hiding.
DeWolf 11:30 on 2026-01-15 Permalink
I was responding to Kevin, not the original complaints about the elevators. But as far as that is concerned, maybe five isn’t enough? I have no idea. But I’m in Hong Kong right now and at HKU station, similar to Édouard-Montpetit, there are eight elevators and at rush hours there is always a long line. I think it’s impossible to avoid unless you overbuild your infrastructure to an infeasible extent.