Montreal residents complaining about noise from REM trains as testing continues

With the official launch of the new all-electric rail network, the Réseau express métropliatain (REM) expected in the coming weeks, many people living near the elevated tracks are complaining about the noise emanating from the trains during the test runs.

A spokesperson for the REM tells Global News complaints about train noise have been made by people living in Griffintown, Pointe-St-Charles and Nun’s Island.

Many apartments and condominiums have units that face the elevated tracks and as trains run every few minutes, residents are upset about the noise.

“Never expected it would be that loud,” Marc Vidricaire, told Global News.

The homeowner lives in a condo facing the Lachine Canal but he now has a clear view of the new REM line to the South Shore. And with tests runs being conducted every few minutes, the trains now cut the tranquil sound of the canal that he was accustomed to.

“I must say that I have to sleep with ear plugs….until 1:00 in the morning,” he said.

0:19 Noise from Montreal’s new light-rail (REM) trains

Some sound-mitigating measures have been put in place to reduce the noise, such as new sound barriers.

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In an email to Global News, Emmanuelle Rouillard-Moreau, a spokesperson for the REM, writes, “We have decided to conduct additional noise measurements in the concerned areas…We will then be able to determine if additional measures are needed.”

Some people Global News spoke with near the Lachine Canal were surprised by the noise made as the trains passed.

“New construction, new train — I wasn’t expecting to hear the noise that it makes,” Mohamed Sadri, a Montreal resident, told Global News.

The new REM network is the largest mass transit network  built for Montreal since the opening of the underground metro network in the late 1960s.

Vidricaire is surprised that a modern, all-electric train would be built that produces so much noise.

“It should have been a major preoccupation to make sure that it’s very quiet rather than this,” he said.

The new trains between Brossard and Central Station are scheduled to open to the public before June 21st.