West Island REM to open May 18
It’s been announced that the branch of the REM towards the West Island will open on May 18.
Looking at the map, it seems the stations on that branch are far apart. Shouldn’t there be a station at St‑Charles at least?
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Kate
Reply
EmilyG 11:28 on 2026-04-14 Permalink
A station at St-Charles would be nice.
I live fairly near the Fairview station. And I live a bus ride away from the Roxboro-Pierrefonds station. So I don’t live right next to any REM station, but I live near enough to some of them that I’ve been using the REM sometimes.
I somehow only recently discovered that if you’re travelling between REM stations on the island, you can just use your OPUS card with the monthly STM fare for the bus/metro.
mare 12:05 on 2026-04-14 Permalink
There should be more stations, but stations are expensive and every extra station increases the travel time and the number of trains needed to achieve the same frequency. The REM is bundled with the highway because that land was already in government control, but CDPQInfra and Ivanhoé Cambridge probably want (much) more land around a future extra station so paid parking lots can be built and they can develop commercial or residential buildings. That’s where the money is made, public transit is just a conduit. That land needs to be acquired first and I’m not sure a private company can appropriate land as easily as the government can. So they probably have to pay market prices.
Nicholas 16:48 on 2026-04-14 Permalink
They also could have put the Fairview station near St John and the current bus loop. But instead they put it far away, meaning the STM has to build a new loop and all of their buses on St John have to detour further west and then back, adding time to trips and costs to the STM. Typical planning in a silo rather than for a network.
DeWolf 19:18 on 2026-04-14 Permalink
At some point this summer, I’ll take the REM to Des Sources and wander around Pointe-Claire. I’ve been there a number of times before, but only by car, which limits the kind of open-ended wandering you can do by foot.
My dad moved there as a kid from the Maritimes and went to St. Thomas, so it would be cool to check it out. I’ll have to ask if he still remembers the address of where he lived.
Ian 19:30 on 2026-04-14 Permalink
All the station locations west of Sources are meant to create development opportunities, not serve existing populations. Anse a l’Orme is a 20 minute bus ride from Ste Anne.
MarcG 06:52 on 2026-04-15 Permalink
Does anyone know if they’ve built or have plans to build a nice way to get from the Fairview–Pointe-Claire station to south of the highway? Currently it looks like a lovely 20 minute walk through a parking lot and along a narrow sidewalk next to a busy road.
James 09:28 on 2026-04-15 Permalink
MarcG: Yes there is a plan for the Kirkland station :
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/grand-montreal/2022-10-18/une-nouvelle-passerelle-fera-le-lien-entre-le-rem-et-le-rev-dans-l-ouest-de-l-ile.php
This news is 3 1/2 years old. Not sure if progress has been made since.
James 09:32 on 2026-04-15 Permalink
EmilyG: The original plan was to build the Kirkland station in the NW corner of St-Charles & Hwy 40 but the city of Kirkland wanted the station further west where it was eventually built
Also, since the fare unification done by the ARTM, all travel on the island of Montreal is zone A. This includes bus, metro, REM, and even suburban trains.
EmilyG 12:04 on 2026-04-15 Permalink
Thank you, James.
MarcG 12:16 on 2026-04-15 Permalink
Found a couple of old articles related to my question.
https://journalmetro.com/local/ouest-de-lile/2620980/viaduc-boulevard-saint-jean-considere-dangereux/
https://montrealgazette.com/news/west-island-gazette/pointe-claire-focuses-on-safe-access-to-new-rem-train-stations/
EmilyG 14:12 on 2026-04-15 Permalink
I wonder if Fairview will be losing business when the buses are rerouted to the new REM station. Where the bus terminus is now, it’s easy to just pop into Fairview before catching the next bus. I admit, I’ll miss being able to get a coffee easily before taking the 207 home.
Ian 14:57 on 2026-04-15 Permalink
Some will win, some will lose. The Kirkland station has a Timmy’s just beside it that will probably be bonkers. I am sure that whole mall that is currently deep in the doldrums will experience a renaissance.
JP 22:34 on 2026-04-15 Permalink
Yes, agree with Ian. I’m noticing the Eaton Centre seems really busy these days. I wouldn’t be surprised if data show it’s busier and doing better sales than before the pandemic. Similarly, I suspect Fairview will experience a similar spike.
@MarcG, I used to do that walk on St Jean daily for 3 years between 2016 and 2019. I hope they improve it.