Airport REM station on time and on budget, officials say

About 35 metres below ground level, the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) airport station is coming together.

The platform where trains will be dropping off and picking up passengers is taking shape and officials say it’s a long time coming.

“We’ve seen in most big international airports around the world, they have that type of service that connects to the downtown,” Anne-Sophie Hamel, a spokesperson for the Montreal airport authority, the ADM.

When travellers arrive at the station, they will use elevators to eventually reach the terminal.

“They are at about 100 metres from the check-in counters, which is very close,” said Steeve Bouffard, a project director. “You take the train from downtown in 26 minutes, you’re at the airport. No queue for parking, no queue for taxis. You’re getting in, you’re there, it’s almost all in.”

Officials are aiming for the REM to serve about 20 per cent of the 35 million passengers expected at the airport every year.

The Montreal-Trudeau airport is in the midst of a $10-billion renovation project. The expectation is that the REM will help ease traffic at the curbside drop-off.

“We’ve seen over the last few years that there are issues with congestion coming into the airport,” Hamel said. “We don’t have the capacity for the growth and passengers that we’ve been experiencing over the last few years.”

Despite issues with the REM’s reliability, the ADM is not worried.

“We’re pretty confident, with all the work that we’re doing with REM, we’re the last antenna of the network as well,” Hamel said.

The $600-million REM station is on budget and trains are expected to be transporting passengers by the end of 2027.