Work
Édouard-Montpetit station
The new station will be located in front of Université de Montréal’s Pavillon Marie-Victorin. The underground station will be 70 metres (20 storeys) below ground, making it the second deepest in North America.
Construction work on the REM's Édouard-Montpetit Station began in the summer of 2018 and will continue through 2022. It requires digging rock and building the entire infrastructure for the station.
Excavation reached the 35-metre mark in May 2019. Phase 2 of construction began in September 2018 and will continue through late summer/fall 2019. This phase involves excavating the shaft for the future REM station. On the site, drilling and controlled micro-blasting are being carried out; excavated materials are then being loaded and trucked out.
The next work phases planned are as follows:
- Summer/fall 2019: excavation of horizontal tunnels with controlled micro-blasting
- Winter 2020 through commissioning: station construction (structural and concrete work as well as equipment installation)
McGill station
McGill station will be beneath McGill College Avenue in the very heart of downtown, and will offer access to Montréal’s green metro line and its extensive underground shopping and restaurant network (RÉSO). It will also be connected to the Montréal Eaton Centre and Place Montréal Trust.
This phase marks the start of excavation of the McGill station on McGill College Avenue. At the same time, the construction of the pedestrian tunnel on De Maisonneuve Boulevard West that began in January 2019 continues. This underground tunnel will connect the REM’s new McGill station to the existing metro station.
The work is carried out on De Maisonneuve Boulevard West (between Robert-Bourassa Boulevard and McGill College Avenue), and on McGill College Avenue (between De Maisonneuve Boulevard West and Sainte-Catherine Street West.
Subsequent phases will continue until the planned commissioning in 2022.
Gare Centrale
Preparatory work will be carried out in 2019 in order to schedule work for 2020. This preparation includes technical surveying, inspection and minor work.
Bassin Peel
The location of the station in this sector will be defined in 2019 in conjunction with the City of Montréal.
Lachine Canal area
The REM route will pass over the Lachine Canal, requiring the construction of an elevated structure in that area.
Work began in November 2018 and will continue through the summer/fall of 2019. The structure’s pillars and beams are now in place and deck installation (slabs) will soon begin.
The bike path on the north side of the Lachine Canal has reopened. Flaggers are present to ensure everyone’s safety near the work zone. The bicycle link on the Wellington Bridge, however, is closed and will remain so through mid-September 2019. Users are invited to use the detours that have been set up.
Pointe-Saint-Charles sector
In this sector, the REM will be elevated and run alongside the existing Canadian National railroad tracks. Work to construct the pillars that will support the elevated structure is well underway. It began in the Marc-Cantin sector in fall 2018 and will continue on the rest of the route in Pointe-Saint-Charles in the spring/summer 2019.
Ile-des-Soeurs
Construction work on REM infrastructures in this sector will begin in the summer/fall of 2019. It will begin with construction of the elevated structure that will run over the Île-des-Sœurs Channel, near the bypass bridge that is no longer in operation. Construction of the REM’s Île-des-Sœurs Station will begin toward the end of 2019.
Works info
All obstructions
Road
Third phase of construction for the REM station McGill
DetailsPublic meetings
Upcoming events in Downtown Montréal (information meeting, neighbourhood committee) are displayed below – if no event is displayed, this means that no meetings are scheduled in the short term.
📝 Visit our Events page to access summaries of the past meetings.
Latest news
Lachine Canal, McGill, Édouard-Montpetit: 3 construction sites in the heart of Montréal
Published on May 23, 2019Infographic: REM construction sites blow out their first candle
Published on April 29, 201910 pictures taken one year after work began
Published on April 26, 2019
Behind the scenes of Édouard-Montpetit worksite
Jean-Philippe Pelletier (REM project office), Thomas Fortin (NouvLR consortium), Marie-Hélène Asselin and Bilal Ibrahim (Polytechnique students) explore the Édouard-Montpetit construction site. This highly complex project entails digging 70 metres below ground to connect the REM to the train tunnel under Mount Royal, which was built over a century ago, in 1918. The project is realizing the original metro plan presented by Jean Drapeau in 1961 and is partially based on the initial plans for the Édouard-Montpetit station in 1983.
FAQ
Downtown Montréal
In February 2018, the REM route in the Griffintown and Pointe-Saint-Charles sectors was changed. The station will now be aerial (view the interactive map). This is an important station for Montréal’s downtown neighbourhoods and for the development projects that are happening in the area. We are currently finalizing the technical studies and will confirm the station location in consultation with the Ville de Montréal in 2019.
Yes. The REM installation will entail platform and metro access changes, as well as renovations to provide universal access.
In addition to Central Station's current access to the metro, a new quick and direct connection to Place Bonaventure will be built for easier access from the REM station to Bonaventure Station. It will be universally accessible and equipped with elevators.
The work will generate noise, vibrations and dust. The sidewalk will be closed in front of Pavillon Marie-Victorin, but no road closures are planned.
We are aware of the inconveniences that construction work can generate in a residential zone and near education and infant care institutions. All appropriate measures will be put in place to minimize impact on surrounding residents, including the use of acoustic screens and of a sprayer (fine droplets of water) to keep dust down, and a close monitoring of noise, air quality and vibrations.
For more information about the REM, read our FAQ. If you have a specific question about the REM construction in your area, email or call us.
Architectural renders of the stations are presented in our Photos and videos section.
Environmental, technical and financial studies are available in our Documentation section.