Canora and Ville-de-Mont-Royal stations: work is progressing rapidly!
Project progress
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The sector of Canora and Ville-de-Mont-Royal stations was first developed around the railway and the opening of the Mount Royal Tunnel in 1918. One hundred years later, a new page of this rich railway history is being written with the construction of a light rail system: the REM. Review of work to date:
Glenmount and the Canora sector
1) Canora station
Following the work begun in the spring of 2018, the foundations of Canora station have now been firmly laid. The construction is taking shape with the elevation of the steel structure that forms the real backbone of the station, and with the installation of the building's outer envelope.
Canora station: the steel structure rises (August 2020)
Canora station: the steel structure rises (September 2020)
Canora station: the steel structure rises (September 2020)
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Canora station will have vegetation on both sides of its precast concrete walls, glass walls and entrance plaza, so as to ensure privacy for nearby residents.
2) Portal Heights
The former Portal Heights station, located at the entrance to the Mount Royal Tunnel, is a new work area to be active this fall at the intersection of Wilderton and Bates.
Reopening the foundation slab of the former Portal Heights station (for removal of material excavated from Mount Royal Tunnel) has revealed the old railway tracks, still present in the tunnel. August 2020
Formerly called "Portal Heights", Canora station was renamed in 1995, by taking the first two letters in “Canadian Northern Railway,” the name of the company that dug the tunnel under Mount Royal. The REM station retains the Canora name.
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Now that the foundation slab covering its entrance has been reopened, the material excavated in Mount Royal Tunnel for the construction of the new Édouard-Montpetit station will be brought to the surface by bridge cranes and other machinery. It will be transported by truck to the storage site located at the future REM Côte-de-Liesse station.
Starting in 2021, once the installation of the rails has been completed, the excavated material will be transported by wagons on the railway tracks between the future Canora station and the future REM Côte-de-Liesse station.
3) Jean-Talon overpass
The overpass at Jean-Talon street west overlooks the railway tracks. It is being demolished and reconstructed to ensure compliance with safety standards prior to the commissioning of the REM.
The north deck of the overpass is already demolished, and reconstruction has begun. This work will take approximately one year. The same demolition and reconstruction work will be repeated on the south deck. Two traffic lanes in each direction will remain open during the construction.
Demolition of the Jean-Talon overpass (July 2020)
Town of Mount Royal
1) Ville-de-Mont-Royal station
The Ville-de-Mont-Royal station will be the second station rising up in September. Installation of the steel structure, and construction of the station’s outer envelope and roof, will highlight several distinctive architectural components of the future stations, including glass walls and wooden ceilings.
A focal point where the diagonal boulevards of Laird and Graham converge, this new station has been designed to enhance the heart of the Town of Mount Royal, in continuity with this historic site. The prefabricated concrete walls are thus subject to a special architectural treatment that will integrate the construction harmoniously with the heritage station.
The new REM Ville-de-Mont-Royal station will be located a few metres from the old Town of Mount Royal station, which is classified as a Quebec national heritage site for its typical turn-of-the-century architecture, visible here.
2) Cornwall bridge
A page of history was turned when the Cornwall bridge was demolished on June 13, 2020. The brand-new Cornwall bridge will be built by our teams and be made accessible by the summer of 2021.
A new infrastructure (a dale park) linking the Cornwall and Graham/Laird bridges will also be built. A public square will be created there, finally unifying the centre of the Town of Mount Royal more than 100 years after its founding.
The demolition of the Cornwall Bridge on June 13, 2020