Update : South Shore timeline and report on work completed

For a successful commissioning

The commissioning of the REM South Shore branch is now scheduled for the spring of 2023. Overview of the major milestones achieved and the next steps to be taken before commissioning.

South Shore Branch

Commissioning of the Brossard – Central Station segment in spring 2023

Next spring, we expect to welcome future REM users on the branch linking the South Shore to Montréal (Stations: Brossard, Du Quartier, Panama, Île-des-Soeurs and Central Station). 

The commissioning schedule for the other branches remains. See the work schedule page for more information. 

The year 2022 was marked by the completion of a series of major milestones: 

• Completion of the infrastructure work. 
• The complete electrification of the South Shore branch. 
• Receipt of all the trains required for commissioning (108 cars received).
• Continuation of tests on the representative segment (5.5 km on the South Shore).
• Since July, integration tests on the complete segment (16.6 km between Brossard and Central Station).
   

For more than two years, the construction of the REM has been taking place in an exceptional context (pandemic, conflict in Ukraine), causing impacts on supply chains, the price and availability of goods and the availability of the workforce. 

We want to highlight the resilience and ingenuity of workers in the face of these unpredictable challenges.

From Brossard to Central Station, we can see all the work done by the workers despite the exceptional context. 16.6 km of track has been built and electrified, 5 stations will soon be ready to welcome future passengers: no effort has been spared during the REM's construction. 

Testing: what remains to be done before commissioning?

Since the end of 2020, an exhaustive and rigorous testing program is underway to validate the functionality and reliability of the systems. Nothing is being overlooked or left to chance. For the South Shore branch alone, an impressive number of components is to be tested in order to put into service a 100% automated light metro system.

See the media presentation for full details. 

Media presentation

Many system tests have been performed so far. We are now in the final stage of completing the dynamic tests. There are two critical milestones to complete before opening to the public: 

• The continuation of complete high-speed dynamic testing of all South Shore branch’s systems.
• Once the dynamic tests are completed and a satisfactory rate of performance is achieved, a “run test” (or trial run) will take place to test commercial service. For about a month, the system will run on schedule, but without passengers. Once reliability is achieved, the REM can open to the public. 

Initially, these critical tests would have led to a launch in the middle of winter 2023. However, this period is not optimal for the implementation of a new transportation network, nor for the required redeployment of our partners' bus networks. Despite our desire to open at the end of 2022, the most responsible decision to ensure the success of this first launch was to postpone it to the spring of 2023. 

Review of work in other segments

The following are the major milestones achieved in 2022 in other branches.

Anse-à-l’Orme Branch

• Aerial structure construction: completed (100%) 
• Rails installation: 96%
• Stations construction: 45% 
• Electrical system installation: 60% 

Airport Branch

• Tunnel to the airport: completed (100%) (rail installation and electrical systems to come)
• Aerial structure construction: completed (100%) 
• Marie-Curie Station: 20%
   

Deux-Montagnes Branch and Mont-Royal Tunnel

• Bridges completion: 89%
• Viaducts completion: 85% 
• Rails installation: 25%
• Stations construction: 63% 
• Saint-Eustache maintenance centre completion: 60%
• Installation of electrical systems has begun
• Modernization of the Mont-Royal tunnel: progress at a steady pace with the drilling of 60,000 boreholes using robotic equipment. These holes are necessary for the installation of equipment, cabling and anchor bolts in the rock.
• Interior design of the McGill station is underway
• Building of the Édouard-Montpetit station is completed and the interior design is in progress