Fire at Montreal REM train station was deliberate, police investigating

Montreal police confirmed that an overnight fire at the Canora REM station, located in a residential neighbourhood near the border of CDN-NDG and the Town of Mount Royal, was a case of arson.

Montreal police spokesperson Mariane Allaire Morin said several 911 calls reporting the fire came in shortly before 1 a.m. on Tuesday.

Because incendiary materials were found at the scene, the case was transferred to the Montreal police arson squad.

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Allaire Morin said the station was not in use as it remains under construction as part of the expansion of Montreal’s light-rail network, known as the REM (Réseau express métropolitain).

CDPQ Infra, the subsidiary of Quebec’s public pension fund that is building the rail system, says the fire only affected a five-metre section of track.

The station, formerly used by Montreal’s regional commuter rail system, is scheduled to open in late 2024 as part of the second phase of the recently opened light rail network.

Allaire Morin said material damages to the REM, resulting from the fire, were “important.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, no suspects had been identified.

— with files from The Canadian Press

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