Montreal’s REM (Réseau express métropolitain) regional express metro line opened its first branch line this past weekend.
Completely automated, it can reach frequencies of every 90 seconds, at speeds up to 90km/hr.
As a steel-wheeled electric train fed by overhead wires, the REM will run both above and below ground, connecting with the existing Montreal Metro subway system and bus terminals.
It’s designed to spur transit-oriented development and connect dense population and office hubs that aren’t currently served by the Metro, such as Nuns’ Island (Ile des Soeurs) and Griffintown.
Future branches will run to the West Island and Montreal-Trudeau Airport; it will also replace the old commuter train line that runs from downtown, under the mountain, to the suburbs of the Town of Mount Royal and further northwest to the off-island Lake of Two Mountains (Lac Deux-Montagnes).
What is amazing is how quickly this was created - announced in 2016, construction started in 2018, and the first line open in 2023.
Chicago, my new hometown, could really use a system like this to help connect crosstown neighborhoods and cut commuter car traffic.
While extensions to the CTA’s older elevated train network and some forms of BRTs are coming, high-speed, high-frequency trains on dedicated rights of way could be built quickly and on budget.