Montréal Rail Extension, Canada

The Ministry of Transport for Quebec ordered a Transportation Management Plan for the Greater Montréal Area. The plan estimates that the number of daily trips in the Greater Montréal Area will increase 25% by 2016 bringing the daily total number of trips to 10.2 million. By 2016, Montréal Island will be the focal point of such trips, over a million of which will end there. The proportion of trips to Montréal Island in relation to all trips in the greater Montréal Area will decline from 71% to 66%, a reflection of Montreal Islands diminishing demographic weight and growth in certain employment centres outside it. The metro extensions are part of the strategy to manage the predicted increase in the number of daily trips through the metro rail system.

INTEGRATED STRATEGY FOR GREATER MONTRÉAL AREA

The east end of Montréal displays striking deficiencies in the realm of transport infrastructure. These deficiencies are most apparent in the absence of transportation services such as the metro, more limited access to the road network, and incomplete municipal network.

The integrated transport strategy for 2000 and 2010 has identified a number of key components to rectify the current deficiencies in the transport infrastructure. Two of the key components are the $203 million extension of line 5 of the metro and the $214 million extension of line 4 of the metro.

EXTENSION OF MONTREAL ORANGE METRO LINE

There has been a joint effort involving the city of Montréal and the city of Laval to develop an extension to the to the orange metro line, that currently ends at Henri Bourassa Station, into Laval. There will be two new stations built, the first one being located at the intersection of Boulevard Cartier and Boulevard Larentien. The second station will extend to CEGEP Montmorency, with the entrance on Boulevard Notre-Dame. The Societe de Transport de la Communaute (STCUM) is mainly responsible for its realisation and the government of Quebec is funding the project

The metro line in Laval has been awaited since 1981 when it was promised by local politicians. The engagement of the project has been announced several times and it is only now underway. The project is not expected to be in use until August of 2004 at the earliest.

INCREASE IN COSTS OF THE MONTREAL PROJECT

There have been recent complications with regards to the cost of the project as one kilometre had not been factored in. This resulted in increase of the estimated $115 million cost to $290 million. The added cost was a result of a separate electrical centre and internal security system that had not been factored in previously. It has been made public by the Mayor of Laval that the new stations will be conceived of as modestly as possible to reduce expense.

SYSTRA-CANARAIL WIN CONTRACT AS PART OF CONSORTIUM

Systra-Canarail were awarded a contract for the design of the extension of lines 4 and 5 of the Montréal metro by the Agence Metropolitaine de Transport. The work is expected to begin by the end of November 2001 and will spread over a period of nine months. As part of a consortium with Transurb and the Cardinal-Biacamano-Gauthier group, they will be responsible for the infrastructure part of the overall study, including tunnels and stations. As wells as for the validation of work relative to rolling stock, operations and fixed metro equipment such as signalling, train control systems, and telecommunications.