Susan Kirichu was enjoying a sunny afternoon in her backyard in Dollard-des-Ormeaux on Thursday when she heard a strange noise. “It was some cracking noise,” she said. “I look behind me and I see the glass is actually cracking in real time.” The noise was coming from a glass panel next door, at the Sunnybrooke REM Station. Kirichu said soon after shards of glass fell down into her lawn. She reported the incident to Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain (REM), which sent someone to clean it up, but both Kirichu and her husband Simon Nderitu, said they are feeling on edge and are concerned about the safety of their children. “I have a big yard, and I want them to be able to run barefoot in my yard, but we cannot do that,” she said. This isn’t the first time the couple has had to deal with this problem. In July, pieces of a panel that had cracked and shattered fell onto their front lawn. They said a similar incident also happened while the station was under construction in 2024. After three incidents, they say the REM has not explained to them what is causing these panels to crack and fall. “They haven’t provided me with any solution,” said Kirichu. “They just say they will come, you know, like change the grass. But that doesn’t resolve it because the panels just keep cracking.” Nderitu said they are also concerned because they can see cracks in other panels of the station and worry that they too may fall. “We don’t know what else will happen with the others. They were installed at the same time, so we don’t know if they’ll keep breaking,” he said. Their neighbour, Desmond Yu, has been tracking the cracking panels and said the problem could be wider than just the Sunnybrooke Station. “This is a public concern because there are users walking around all the REM station, which has the same design,” he said. “That that can be old people or young kids … anything can fall from the sky.” Pulsar, the group that operates the REM, told CTV News that the “safety of REM passengers and residents living near REM infrastructure is a priority.” The company added that “when the family contacted us, we took immediate action to remove the broken glass from their property.” Pulsar said it remains in contact with the family and the damaged glass panels should be replaced soon.
