They claim it will be reliable, efficient, affordable and safe.
Doubtless, it will break down in bad weather, be grossly overpriced, and who knows whether it will be safe.
Ladies and gentlemen of Greater Montreal, welcome to your new REM.
By now you feel me. Let’s call it like it is; my glass is half empty when it comes to the REM.
I don’t like the fact that all the tracks are raised.
In some areas, perhaps there was no other choice, or perhaps they could have chosen other locations in which to build them. The Deux Montagnes corridor, for one, could have been kept on the ground, and some transit experts argue cannibalizing the existing Deux Montagnes line was pointless.
The Ottawa light rail transit system had a derailment caused by improperly torqued bolts. A derailment on the REM, for whatever reason, would be a disaster, with tracks 30 or 60 feet in the air.
Personally, I don’t like that there’s no driver. Most people I talk to seem fine with that, and some even yearn for driverless automobiles. In my utopia, I drive my car and a human drives my train. During routine disruptions and emergencies, commuters will be at the mercy of automated trains and any computer problems that occur.
On the Ottawa light rail transit system, there have been various computer problems and door faults.
A pushy commuter pried open the doors of an Ottawa train causing the system to go offline for an hour, blocking other trains along the line that could not be rerouted around the stalled train.
When one REM train breaks down, the line will come to a standstill.
Can you imagine when an REM train breaks down and passengers are asked to get off and walk along tracks that are 30 to 60 feet in the air?
The Ottawa trains, supposedly built for Canadian winters, couldn’t handle Canadian winter. Parts broke off or froze in the intense cold.
I hope you’re not under the impression the REM will be winter-proof, functioning reliably through Montreal winters.
Fat chance.
Freezing rain alone will be a huge issue. You heard it here.
CDPQ Infra probably didn't skimp on concrete quality and, hopefully, won't skimp on the cost of upkeep.
Ottawa’s light rail transit system has been a series of headaches. Ottawa and the construction company are suing each other, the project was plagued with issues and opened a year behind schedule.
Thousands and thousands of people all over Greater Montreal continue to endure years and years of unbearable noise and disruption to their lives as construction on this mega-project plods along.
On top of that, there are people who did not choose to live beside train tracks who are now forced to live beside train tracks, enduring all the inherent disruption.
Thanks to what seems to me to be hasty and shoddy urban planning, there are now huge concrete overpasses and unsightly raised tracks running through streets, malls, parking lots, front lawns, towns and neighborhoods all over Greater Montreal that were once quiet, if not quaint.
Progress, they call it.
The REM is less about progress and more about profit.
CDPQ Infra, the contracting arm of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, makes it crystal clear Mission Number 1 is to make Quebecers’ savings grow.
CDPQ Infra is not about making life better for commuters or better for the planet - they are in it for the money, to not only turn a profit, but to maximize the profit they turn.
Rest assured, commuters will be charged a fortune to ride the REM and to park their cars at REM stations, and CDPQ Infra will surely justify it by saying supply chain issues during the pandemic made materials frightfully expensive.
Cough up.
What choice will we have? None.
What choice did we have? None. The REM was imposed upon Montrealers. Virtually no consultation. Virtually no flexibility.
We may not have paid the price to build this monster project, but if it turns out to be ill-advised, it will most certainly be Montreal commuters who end up paying the price.
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