RÉSEAU EXPRESS MÉTROPOLITAIN (REM) STATION AT MONTRÉAL-TRUDEAU AIRPORT
LOCATION: MONTRÉAL, QC
Issue/Source: support for the REM STATION AT MONTRÉAL-TRUDEAU AIRPORT and POTENTIAL LINK TO DORVAL HUB
Date: OCTOBER 28, 2020
Suggested Responses
- The Government of Canada appreciates the importance of the light rail station at Montréal-Trudeau Airport, given its place as one of the anchors of the new $6.5 billion light rail transit Réseau express métropolitain network currently under construction in Greater Montréal.
- The Government is working with Aéroports de Montréal, the Government of Québec and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra to examine potential solutions.
- The Government has provided rent relief to 21 airport authorities that have ground leases with the federal government, including Aéroports de Montréal, through rent relief from March to December 2020.
IF PRESSED
- The Government of Canada is committed to working with Aéroports de Montréal and the Government of Québec to ensure that the Réseau express métropolitain airport station gets built.
- The Government is working with Québec, Aéroports de Montréal and other stakeholders on potential options to improve the connection between the airport and the Dorval train station.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- The Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) is a new light rail transit network currently under construction in Greater Montréal, consisting of 26 stations and 67 km of tracks. The $6.5 billion project is being developed by the Caisse de Dépôts et Placement Québec Infra (CDPQi), and includes a $1.3 billion investment from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
- Aéroports de Montréal (AdM) reached a commercial agreement with CDPQi to finance and build the REM Station at Montréal-Trudeau airport station. CDPQi has committed to build the tunnel connecting the REM network to the planned airport terminal.
- Due to COVID-19, traffic and revenues at AdM have significantly collapsed and are forecasted to remain greatly reduced in the coming years, returning to 2019 levels by 2024. In response to the crisis, AdM has reduced operating and capital expenditures and intends to raise additional financing in the coming years.
- In the summer of 2020, AdM publicly signaled that it intended to renege on its obligations to build the Montréal-Trudeau Airport REM station and related obligations to CDPQi unless it received significant financial support from federal and provincial governments.
- The High Frequency Rail Joint Project Office (HFR JPO) commissioned ridership and engineering studies on the potential extension of the REM to the Dorval train station.