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Montréal Transit Developments

We past the construction of 2 REM lines as we headed east on 40. It was a roller coaster line for one line with piers up and no tracks in places with missing section still to see construction. Beams were in place in various locations. 2 stations in various stages of construction.

Both lines crossover 40 that only had piers in place for them. Have photos, but Aug until on line.
 

The Blue Line to nowhere: Montreal metro extension and magical thinking

All their transit-related post seem to hate transit. And then present factual errors in their arguments. I will not read this one based on what I have seen in their other posts...
 
July 08
Not the greatest shots as I was dealing with rain on a crappie day with a number washout including ones for stations. Have some better ones on our way home, but way down the list at this time. Heading eastbound on A40
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Sure, but at least stuff is actually happening now. Before the REM, the last system expansion was the Laval extension back in 07, and that was just 3 stops. Before that it was the blue line in the late 80s. There have been new lines added to Exo, I'll grant them that, but even then Exo is quite underwhelming as a whole.

I would rather have transit expansion that is paid for by people who want a RoI and don't take into account future sustainability, over absolutely nothing at all.
 
...I and don't take into account future sustainability ...
wow ...

The caisse isn't doing this out of the goodness their hearts. Quebeckers are going to be paying through the nose for this.

Remember when people were saying the same thing about 407 finally being built?
 
Sure, but at least stuff is actually happening now. Before the REM, the last system expansion was the Laval extension back in 07, and that was just 3 stops. Before that it was the blue line in the late 80s. There have been new lines added to Exo, I'll grant them that, but even then Exo is quite underwhelming as a whole.

I would rather have transit expansion that is paid for by people who want a RoI and don't take into account future sustainability, over absolutely nothing at all.
It's not that simple. The first REM line is actually great, it connects important hubs with populous suburbs and the airport. It makes sense to build it and it will probably improve integration and connectivity within the city. It also uses corridors that already existed. In many ways, planning for this was already done by the time the CDPQ came along (in the sense that the A10 corridor was already identified as a rapid transit corridor, the Deux-Montagne line was already deemed an important line for improvements, service to the airport was already being considered, the Mont-Royal tunnel has been a candidate for subway service since the 50s, etc). Even then, the government had to force the Caisse to add connections to McGill and Edouard-Montpetit metro stations.

The next phases of REM are another story. The government is giving la Caisse the mandate to plan for the next transit projects, and that's the scary part. They don't care about many parameters important to proper transit planning (and it's okay, their job is to get financial returns). Look at the Taschereau boulevard tramway project. The government simply took it off the hands of ARTM and the City of Longueuil to give it to the Caisse...

Having the Caisse invest in transit it deems profitable is fine, but they should not be in charge of planning. That's precisely why ARTM was created, and that's what they were in the process of doing until the government came in and took it all away, not even involving them in the REM de l'Est plan...
 
wow ...

The caisse isn't doing this out of the goodness their hearts. Quebeckers are going to be paying through the nose for this.

Remember when people were saying the same thing about 407 finally being built?
Sure, but again I'd rather have an imperfect Rapid Transit Line instead of absolutely nothing at all.
It's not that simple. The first REM line is actually great, it connects important hubs with populous suburbs and the airport. It makes sense to build it and it will probably improve integration and connectivity within the city. It also uses corridors that already existed. In many ways, planning for this was already done by the time the CDPQ came along (in the sense that the A10 corridor was already identified as a rapid transit corridor, the Deux-Montagne line was already deemed an important line for improvements, service to the airport was already being considered, the Mont-Royal tunnel has been a candidate for subway service since the 50s, etc). Even then, the government had to force the Caisse to add connections to McGill and Edouard-Montpetit metro stations.

The next phases of REM are another story. The government is giving la Caisse the mandate to plan for the next transit projects, and that's the scary part. They don't care about many parameters important to proper transit planning (and it's okay, their job is to get financial returns). Look at the Taschereau boulevard tramway project. The government simply took it off the hands of ARTM and the City of Longueuil to give it to the Caisse...

Having the Caisse invest in transit it deems profitable is fine, but they should not be in charge of planning. That's precisely why ARTM was created, and that's what they were in the process of doing until the government came in and took it all away, not even involving them in the REM de l'Est plan...
I mean I guess you have a point, although in the case of the Tascherau REM its definitely an improvement over the tramway. I do have reservations about REM de l'Est though...
 
Transit planners in Quebec are now trying to keep Le Boulevard Mall open.

 
wow ...

The caisse isn't doing this out of the goodness their hearts. Quebeckers are going to be paying through the nose for this.

Remember when people were saying the same thing about 407 finally being built?
The CDPQ is a crown corporation that manages Quebec's pension. Any money they make will end up in Qubecoi pockets eventually. As for day-to-day riders, it has already been announced that riding the REM will be the same fair as the Metro. (I'm unclear if it has free transfers, however)
They also are the ones building and managing the REM based on the routes proposed by the Provincial gov, which is different than buying a recently built highway. (other than transferring the Mont Royal Tunnel)
 
The CDPQ is a crown corporation that manages Quebec's pension. Any money they make will end up in Qubecoi pockets eventually. As for day-to-day riders, it has already been announced that riding the REM will be the same fair as the Metro. (I'm unclear if it has free transfers, however)
They also are the ones building and managing the REM based on the routes proposed by the Provincial gov, which is different than buying a recently built highway. (other than transferring the Mont Royal Tunnel)
They're currently trying to unify the entire Montreal Region under one fare system using zones with:

Zone 1: Island of Montreal
Zone 2: Island of Laval and Longueil
Zone 3: The outer regions that are under the jurisdiction of the ARTM
Zone 4: The outer regions that are not under the jurisdiction of the ARTM (I assume the outer stations of the Exo network like Mt. St. Hillaire).

This zonal system should apply to the Metro, Exo, REM, and all Bus services.

This means that a trip say from Sunnybrooke to Beaudry, would just be one single fare and a free transfer.
 
For those with insight on the subject, is Caisse taking over transit planning not essentially the same idea as the Japanese conglomerates which took over subway planning in post-war Tokyo to unbelievably great success?

Am I oversimplifying the situation? Where are the pain points where that comparison falls apart?
 

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