Orange line extension tops Valérie Plante's budget wish list

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante wants money from the province to extend the western tip of the Metro's Orange line to link it with the incoming light-rail network. 

Plante's administration laid out a proposal this morning to build two new stations beyond Côte-Vertu: Poirier and Bois-Franc.

The extension, totalling 2.3 kilometres, would mean commuters on the light-rail train, known as the REM, could transfer to the Metro at Bois-Franc.

Plante said the city needs to improve its public transit network to decrease congestion on the roads and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"This project is an absolute priority," she said in a meeting of her executive committee.

The Orange line extension is on her wish list for the provincial budget, set for March 10. She made her other priorities known at a news conference later in the day.

Affordable housing, more money for public transit (including the Orange line extension) and a commitment to fighting climate change were her three main demands.

Plante has long been the champion of another major Metro project, the creation of a new Pink line, which would run from Lachine through downtown to Montréal-Nord.

There's no sign that project will go ahead any time soon, but Plante announced a compromise last summer to help build a tramway line from downtown to Lachine, in the city's west end.