2nd REM breakdown in as many days causes headaches for Montreal commuters
Track switch issue disrupted service Tuesday, more service stoppages planned in coming months
A track switch issue disrupted service on Montreal's light-rail network on Tuesday morning, forcing commuters to take shuttle buses during rush hour.
This was the second breakdown in two days to cause headaches for Réseau express métropolitain (REM) users.
On Monday, a power supply failure led to a service interruption between 4:15 p.m. and 7 p.m., said Francis Labbé, CDPQ Infra spokesperson, in a Tuesday interview on Radio-Canada's Tout un matin.
On Tuesday, it was a different problem. A track switch, also known as a turnaround point, malfunctioned at a REM station in Brossard, on Montreal's South Shore.
"We had to move the trains manually, which takes much longer," explained Labbé.
Service resumed later in the morning after a shut down that lasted several hours, but not without causing delays for many passengers. Commuters had to line up to board the shuttle buses to get to and from the South Shore.
Labbé said these recurring issues won't drive users away, and he added the system's reliability has improved significantly over the past year.
"Compared to last year, we now have only a third of the breakdowns we experienced back then. So, the systems and infrastructure are maturing," he said.
No choice but to ride REM
Those commuters relying on public transit to cross the St. Lawrence River actually have no choice but to ride the REM when it is operational. That's because the express bus, which used to use bus lanes on the Champlain Bridge, no longer runs.
There is a non-competition clause that prevents buses from other transit networks from crossing the Champlain Bridge, something that has frustrated many users since the REM began operations in 2023.
Teams will work to determine the cause of Monday's electrical issue, Labbé said.
"It's a case-by-case situation. Various hypotheses are being considered, and each incident must be studied to better understand what is happening," he said.
The solutions found will be integrated into the maintenance plan, he said.
Two delays this week are some of many speed bumps the new transit service has hit since launching. Even the opening of the $6.9-billion light-rail network was delayed.
Switches have malfunctioned before
Malfunctioning railway switches have been a problem since the first official rush-hour commute on Aug. 21, 2023, with service stopping twice on a Monday morning.
By the fall, more complaints emerged as passengers faced delays. For example, on Halloween in 2023, Chambly, Que., resident Taissia Philipovich was among the passengers trapped for an hour in a stalled wagon.
"We were so many people in the train, with winter jackets. It was stuffy. The air wasn't there," she said shortly after the incident.
The REM has been making efforts to communicate better and faster with passengers before and during outages, even sending out text alerts when it happens to those who sign up for the phone service.
More recently, passengers have been relying on bus shuttles during planned service stoppages. This is due to network testing as the REM prepares to open more of its service throughout Montreal.
For all of January there were late openings and early closures on the weekend.
The entire network will be shut down on weekends through most weekends of February through June, the REM says on its website.There will be early network closures during the week throughout the spring and into the summer.
In July and August, the service will be completely shut down most of the time. More information can be found on the REM's website.
Written by Isaac Olson with files from Radio-Canada