TRAM TRACKER: City signs deals to clarify TramCité project management

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

It may still be many months before any tramway track is laid, but the city has now put in place an agreement on how the project will be managed going forward.

In an apolitical statement released May 22, the city’s executive committee announced “two agreements representing important operational and administrative milestones for the advancement of the TramCité project.”

The agreements between the city, in co-ordination with the Réseau de transport de la capitale (RTC) and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec infrastructure division (CDPQ Infra), set out joint responsibilities in four areas.

These include collaborative decision-making, allocation of roles and responsibilities in the planning phase and beyond, interface management to ensure co-ordination on technical aspects, and commitment to the community to “maintain regular communication with citizens and to implement measures to mitigate the impacts of the work on daily life.” The statement notes that the city and the RTC “retain responsibilities related to their expertise (acquisitions; work on urban and municipal technical networks, operating and mobility systems; project manager support activities).” A second agreement, between the city, the RTC and the government of Quebec, spells out the details of financing of the project regarding “activities and works during the planning phase, which runs until June 2027.”

Some preparatory work for the $7.6-billion project will be underway this year, and then ramp up in 2026, to make ready for the full-blown construction phase in 2027, lasting five years.

The all-electric tramway system will run a total of 19 kilometres, with 19 stations connecting the Le Gendre, Sainte-Foy, Université Laval, Parliament Hill, Saint-Roch and Charlesbourg sectors.

Overall management of the project, as per a December 2024 agreement, is in the hands of CDPQ Infra, as decided by the Quebec government.