Where should Montreal public transit be taken next? The ARTM has lots of ideas but the eastern third of the island of Montreal is noticeably absent from its map.
Saturday, La Presse focuses on the perennial notion of extending the orange line to Bois‑Franc. If it’s like the blue line to Anjou, it could take another 30 years.
Nicholas 11:54 on 2026-07-24 Permalink
This is a needs assessment, and it seems the eastern third has already done that, given we’re already in the phase where we’re building one of the most expensive metro lines per km in world history and we’ve had proposed many other projects (REM, tram, etc).
R T 12:43 on 2026-07-24 Permalink
Nicholas is being unfair.
He forgot to mention that we have almost finished a $700,000,000 million bus lane through the area after recently building a $700,000,000 commuter rail line with three stations in the area.
Anton 19:09 on 2026-07-24 Permalink
I just took the new REM branches today. Overall the system is quite nice, but especially in the West Island it suffers from very poor station placement, not along the main north south corridors. Ridership seems low…. Something I complained about 10 years ago. Also, the transfers are very long (measures 4:20 at Edouard Montpetit train-to-train), which also doesn’t encourage ridership. The trains are also pretty sluggish (80kph instead of 120kph?)
They did improve some things I kept repeating ten years ago, but the big items – station placement, transfers, compatibility with main line, were sadly not addressed.
I wish we could some big picture thinking and better planning – cuz sadly, the REM is still the best transit project Montreal had for decades.
Kate 21:16 on 2026-07-24 Permalink
I imagine ridership will pick up when school resumes in September.
Also, you’ve tested it out mid construction holiday, when a lot of people will be away, or just not commuting.
I took the REM twice right from Anse-à-l’Orme in late May. It wasn’t jammed to the doors, but the seats were full and some people were standing. Passengers skewed quite young, I noticed.
Someone noted recently that it could change the relationship between stranded suburban young folks and downtown. I don’t suppose they all get cars at age 16.
steph 07:40 on 2026-07-25 Permalink
The transportation components of the REM, (that actually stands for Real Estate Modernization), will be a great added service for future residents of upcoming developments… 🙂
Anton 08:19 on 2026-07-25 Permalink
@Kate a rem with all seats taken has 128 seats. That’s empty for a metro. I understand it’s summer so ridership is a bit lower… maybe it’ll pick up, but still think there are a lot of wasted opportunities here.
It’s odd running in an empty metro over the grand boulevards of the West Island (like at St Charles, St Jean), chock full of traffic, while the stations are off in the distance. At place where within walking distance, you can’t even cross the highway.
Major Annoyance 18:45 on 2026-07-25 Permalink
> within walking distance, you can’t even cross the highway.
Anse-a-l’Orme station is the most egregious of the lot. There is literally nothing in the neighbourhood of that station on the north side of the 40, with a dead-quiet business park on the south side. The few times I’ve used that station there was never more than one bus present at a terminal with a dozen bus bays. The whole place reeks of “real estate development waiting to happen”, “someday”, “maybe”. Utility as a modern-day transit option for Ste-Anne’s and Senneville residents: close to nil.
Kate 20:27 on 2026-07-25 Permalink
Major A.: You’re right. I was driven to Anse-à-l’Orme by a friend, who drove by mistake through the bus loop, but nobody cared.
CE 22:38 on 2026-07-26 Permalink
I took my bike on the REM to Anse-a-l’Orme station and was surprised by how many people got off in the middle of the day. A few others were with bikes. I’m not sure where they all went but I imagine some of them got on a bus to somewhere else. I biked to Cap St-Jacques through forested land but most of it had no trespassing signs put up by development companies.
DeWolf 19:30 on 2026-07-27 Permalink
I haven’t taken the new West Island branch yet but in terms of ridership, the REM reported in April — before the new branch opened — that it was averaging 78,000 daily riders. This peaked at over 100,000 daily riders during the CH playoffs.
Before the pandemic, the projection for ridership when all three branches were open was 150,000 daily riders. I think it will take several years longer to get there than those early projections, but I don’t see what that isn’t possible, especially with the airport branch and so much upcoming development near REM stations.
I’m not sure how much traffic the West Island branch will drive, though. As Anton noted its station placements are weird. There is big development potential but aside from Fairview and maybe Sources, it’s not as obvious as around some of the other stations.
My own personal experience has been mostly limited to the central portion, and it’s often standing-room only, but I don’t know about the outer branches.
And of course it’s the construction holiday: the city is running at less than half speed. There is remarkably little traffic and the busiest places are usually tourist/recreational hotspots. Mile End is still busy but it feels like a ghost town compared to just a couple of weeks ago.