New commuter train project gets endorsement from Trudeau

MONTREAL – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in downtown Montreal at EVO student residence Saturday to address the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party for the first time since the general election.

Spirits were running high and delegates and MPs cheered on the prime minister as he took the stage.

In his speech Trudeau endorsed the suburban commuter trains that the Caisse de dépôt – Quebec’s pension fund – proposed on April 22.

“This electric train network is exactly the kind of project that we want to support,” said Trudeau at a Liberal Party rally.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This electric train network is exactly the kind of project that we want to support," said Trudeau at a Liberal Party rally.

Although his endorsement is a welcomed sign for the Caisse de dépôt, there is still no timeline on when the government will take concrete steps to make the project a reality.

Nevertheless, Trudeau is taking the Caisse de dépôt seriously.

“The caisse has a great track record in terms of investments, the Canada Line in Vancouver is a great example,” said Trudeau to reporters.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The caisse has a great track record in terms of investments, the Canada Line in Vancouver is a great example," said Trudeau to reporters.

The Caisse de dépôt’s ambitious project would create an electric automated train network that would cost over $5-billion dollars and would be the third largest in the world.

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Caisse has already committed to investing three billion dollars and wants Ottawa and Quebec to work out the rest.

WATCH BELOW: The Caisse de Dépôt has announced its proposal an electric light rail transit project that will link most of Greater Montreal. As Global’s Felicia Parrillo reports, the next step is to wait for funding from the provincial and federal governments.

2:44 New public transit system for Greater Montreal

“I am looking forward to talking with the Caisse and looking at how Canada can be a strong financial partner to this project,” Trudeau said.

Details have yet to be worked out, but the project has been met with enthusiasm within the party, especially West Island MP Frank Baylis, who says his riding needs the trains to improve quality of life.

“I have already taken time to speak to a lot of the mayors of the West Island and they’re all in favour, they’re all excited,” said Baylis. “They just said to me ‘make sure it happens.'”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I have already taken time to speak to a lot of the mayors of the West Island and they're all in favour, they're all excited," said Baylis. "They just said to me 'make sure it happens.'"

The Caisse de dépôt wants to start building next year and finish by 2020.