REM expansion opens 4 West Island stations with service starting Monday

Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is expanding into the city’s West Island with four new light-rail stations on an elevated section of track, scheduled to open on Monday after a free ride period over the weekend. The new stops, built along about 14 kilometres of aerial track, are Des Sources, Fairview, Pointe-Claire, Kirkland and Anse-à-l’Orme, linking communities including Pointe-Claire, Kirkland and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.

The REM expansion is being positioned as the second-longest aerial train network in Canada, behind Vancouver’s SkyTrain. Carl Corben, director of operations with the infrastructure division of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which owns and oversees the REM project, said the service is expected to reduce travel times for riders in the West Island. He said passengers would be able to travel from the Anse-à-l’Orme station to downtown Montreal in about 35 minutes.

The four stations come ahead of the REM’s later airport connection. Corben said the final segment linking the network to Montréal Trudeau International Airport is expected to open by the end of 2027, extending the system’s reach beyond the Island of Montreal and adding an intercity...