Montreal REM light-rail cost rises to $9.4 billion

A Réseau express métropolitain (REM) train makes its way towards downtown in Montreal, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press)

Building the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) in Montreal will be more expensive than expected.

The estimated cost of the project has risen from $7 billion in 2018 to $9.4 billion in 2024, according to Quebec auditor general Guylaine Leclerc.

On Wednesday, she presented an update of her 2018 report on the accounting analysis of the REM's financial package.

The REM is a private electric train network that was entrusted in 2017 to a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ-Infra).

It is the largest public transport project undertaken in Quebec in the last 50 years, since the creation of the Montreal metro.

The increase in costs is attributable to inflation, delays caused by the pandemic, the condition of the underground vault on McGill College Avenue and the discovery of explosives in the Mont-Royal tunnel.

The full commissioning of the REM is now scheduled for 2027 rather than 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 20, 2024.