JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West

As the growing number of service interruptions on the South Shore have raised questions about the reliability of the REM light rail system in winter – a situation that was exaserbated last week by heavy snowfalls – officials says the opening of the West Island line is still on schedule for this fall. And this despite acknowledging that recent service problems on parts of the network already in service have forced a pullback on the schedule of tests on the West Island tracks.

“This winter, particular challenges have been compounded,” said Francis Labbé, assistant director of media relations for CDPQ Infra, the consortium overseeing the rail service.

Labbé said REM workers managing the West Island tests were called to Brossard last week as the line running from downtown Montreal to the South Shore – currently the only line in operation – has been experiencing continued technical issues.

The REM has experienced multiple delays and service disruptions this month as Montreal was hit with a record-breaking 74 centimetres of snow – 10 centimetres more than the previous record set in February 1954. Shuttle buses were deployed to compensate for the delays.

“Our teams are already hard at work to remedy them,” Labbé said, referring to the issues on the South Shore line.

The latest phase of dynamic testing along the West Island tracks between the Anse-à-l’Orme station in Ste. Anne de Bellevue and the Bois-Franc station in St. Laurent, which began Feb. 3, has been reduced in the past week. Up until the record-breaking snowfall this month, trains had been running along the West Island line from 6 a.m. to midnight every day, preparing for its service launch in October.

Labbé added that changes to better winterize the South Shore line would be valuable to the whole operation.

“Any improvements to our equipment will benefit branches not yet in service,” he explained, adding the reduction of these dynamic tests will not hamper the goal of opening the West Island line in October.

Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault told the media last week that riders expect “efficient and reliable service” from the REM, adding that the number of delays caused by winter weather these past two years is unacceptable.

Since its launch in July 2023, the South Shore REM line has been plagued by frequent service interruptions. But this past month has proven to be particularly challenging. In early February, a power outage shut down service for several hours, while switch malfunctions disrupted transit during morning rush hours. Shuttle buses are now in use regularly to ferry South Shore commuters to and from downtown.