[CA] Phase 1 of Montréal's REM is opened

[jamesontheroad]

Montréal has opened the first phase of the REM (Réseau express métropolitain), a new automated light-rail system that will eventually serve 26 stations over 67km.

Phase 1 connects Montréal's Central Station (Gare Centrale) with the 'South Shore' of the Saint Lawrence river. New stations have opened at the EXO (formerly AMT, commuter rail) station in Brossard (the southern terminus), Du Quartier, Panama and Île-des-Soeurs. An intermediate stop close to Central Station called Griffintown-Bernard-Landry will open at some point in the future.

The old heavy rail tunnel that travels north from Central Station under Mont Royal is being converted for REM service, and will lead to two new intermodal stations at McGill (green line of the metro) at Eduoard-Montpetit (blue line). The REM will then split towards three branches: Deux-Montagnes (the old EXO/AMT commuter rail line), Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and Montréal Trudeau Airport.

Over on YouTube, as ever the Toronto transit blogger RMTransit has done a sterling job of previewing and explaining the opening.

Local media have also covered the launch weekend (when travel was free), reporting on some of the teething problems with the first days in service.

Video from CBC Montréal: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mont...ion-brossard-montreal-gare-centrale-1.6920333

Video from Global News Montréal: https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/36a5d3e2-2d91-11ee-aec9-0242ac110004/?jwsource=cl

Also, a nice transit-related story, as RTL (Réseau de transport de Longueuil) express bus line 45 is discontinued as a result of the REM opening. Some nice recollections from bus drivers who have spent the last five decades shuttling commuters from the southern suburbs into Mtl. Video: https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/6617cd56-2f2b-11ee-af12-0242ac110006/?jwsource=cl

 

[stuu]

They have done an impressive job going from proposal to trains running in ~8 years

 

[jamesontheroad]

They have done an impressive job going from proposal to trains running in ~8 years

Yes, especially since construction didn’t really start until quite recently. The next phases are much more complex, and will be interesting to watch.

Apropos of that, I just finished Bent Flyvberg and Dan Gardner’s new book How Big Things Get Done. Flyvberg is an urban planner with decades of experience researching why mega projects (especially transit) go over budget or over time. He sums it up neatly: most projects think fast and end up acting slow, whereas the key is to think slow (exploring all risks and possibilities) and then act fast. I recommend it highly. Maybe phase 1 of the REM will become a positive case study in the future.

 

[Austriantrain]

Apropos of that, I just finished Bent Flyvberg and Dan Gardner’s new book How Big Things Get Done. Flyvberg is an urban planner with decades of experience researching why mega projects (especially transit) go over budget or over time. He sums it up neatly: most projects think fast and end up acting slow, whereas the key is to think slow (exploring all risks and possibilities) and then act fast. I recommend it highly. Maybe phase 1 of the REM will become a positive case study in the future.

I am sure the book is great, but every Swiss transport planner could have told them the same. It’s just that their marketing is inferior.

 

[jamesontheroad]

I am sure the book is great, but every Swiss transport planner could have told them the same.

The Swiss do not escape unharmed. Flyvberg points out the sorry tale of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, which ended up being very over budget and very late (although the exact figure is disputed a bit by those involved and those not involved).

Meanwhile, in Montréal, there were some technical faults with a track switch on the first day, but it seems like a generally uneventful and hugely popular start to commercial service. I can't find a solid date for the opening of the next phases, but since Mtl is always worth a visit I will try to make a point of getting there in the next few years.

 

[Austriantrain]

The Swiss do not escape unharmed. Flyvberg points out the sorry tale of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, which ended up being very over budget and very late (although the exact figure is disputed a bit by those involved and those not involved).

Meanwhile, in Montréal, there were some technical faults with a track switch on the first day, but it seems like a generally uneventful and hugely popular start to commercial service. I can't find a solid date for the opening of the next phases, but since Mtl is always worth a visit I will try to make a point of getting there in the next few years.

Well, that comparison seems unfair. While it is true that the LBT was not the greatest thing the Swiss have ever done, they have had a large number of very large projects over the years that worked well. The Canadians however… - well, luckily this one (by your own account the easy part) worked out. It doesn’t prove that they are better at that sort of thing, since they hardly ever do them (at least better than the US, which mostly do them very badly).

And I love authors making money by stating the obvious… everybody that knows anything in this line of work has always known it; it’s the politicians that don’t heed the advice.

 

[jamesontheroad]

And I love authors making money by stating the obvious… everybody that knows anything in this line of work has always known it; it’s the politicians that don’t heed the advice.

Quite the opposite. Flyvberg finds it is the engineers themselves who habitually distort the numbers to get politicians to support their projects.

Flyberg isn't just an author, he's the world's leading academic in this field. He built a research team around the study of megaprojects and maintains the world's largest database of them (16,000 and counting) which is being used to help refine urban planning.

Do pick it up, it is right up the street of so many people on this forum.

 

[Austriantrain]

Quite the opposite. Flyvberg finds it is the engineers themselves who habitually distort the numbers to get politicians to support their projects.

Flyberg isn't just an author, he's the world's leading academic in this field. He built a research team around the study of megaprojects and maintains the world's largest database of them (16,000 and counting) which is being used to help refine urban planning.

Do pick it up, it is right up the street of so many people on this forum.

Thanks for the details. It does sound interesting in the end (I just have seen too many books that really are only there so that their author can add an item to their publication list, not adding anything new).

Edit: ordered it

Quite the opposite. Flyvberg finds it is the engineers themselves who habitually distort the numbers to get politicians to support their projects.

Flyberg isn't just an author, he's the world's leading academic in this field. He built a research team around the study of megaprojects and maintains the world's largest database of them (16,000 and counting) which is being used to help refine urban planning.

Do pick it up, it is right up the street of so many people on this forum.

Bought the book and read it. It is indeed very interesting, even if the combination of a facts-book and a psychological treatise seems weird at times. „Think slow, act fast“ is actually only one - and very generalized - premise of the book.

However, it is not a recipe book and unlikely to change anything much. Successful project leaders have always known what it says, yet people keep falling into the same traps.

BTW, I couldn’t find the part where engineers take the blame and politicians don’t. While „strategic misrepresentation“ gets a mention, the author is very clear that in many cases, politics is to blame.