Reséau Express Métropolitain (REM) officials are in the final stretch before officially opening the light rail, all-electric, full-automated train system in the South Shore.
More high-frequency test runs and evacuations still have to be completed before the trains can start to roll between Brossard and the Gare Centrale in downtown Montreal.
But officials say they’re almost ready to bring into service Quebec’s largest public transit project in recent history.
“I’m waiting for this moment for six years, since we began the construction,” Denis Andlauer, the REM’s vice-president of operations, told Global News.
The trains running between Brossard and downtown will make three stops before arriving at the central station, a trip that will take 18 minutes with trains travelling up to 100 Km/h.
Officials say you can’t beat that time by car and they ran tests as evidence.
“Crossing the Champlain Bridge in the middle of such a traffic jam and going to downtown, it’s just amazing,” Andlauer said.
The trains operate with no conductors. Instead, there is a massive control centre where all the trains are monitored by staff members around the clock. There are also video cameras and sensors to detect any obstacles or any other obstructions on the tracks.
“We have sensors to be sure that there is no intrusion on the complete corridor,” Andlauer said.
No tests of the trains were conducted during the ice storm of April 5th that knocked out power for more than one million Quebecers, but officials say there have been plenty of test runs conducted during harsh winter conditions.
And there are two power stations independently sourced from Hydro-Québec to keep the operations fully functional in the event of a massive outage.
“Each power station is able to provide the power for the complete network,” Andlauer said.
Once the final tests are complete — passengers will be able to start boarding the new train system that will mark a major milestone in Quebec’s public transit history.