The REM’s West Island section set to open on May 18 with 4 new stations

The REM’s West Island branch is set to open on May 18 with 4 new stations, but some mayors have concerns about parking.

The West Island section of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is set to open on May 18, according to officials.

“This new segment represents an important milestone for mobility in the West Island: the REM becomes the first high-frequency, structurally-integrated public transit network to serve the area,” the REM announced on Tuesday.

• READ MORE: Airport REM station on time and on budget, officials say

Confirmation of the opening date comes after “tests conducted over the past few weeks,” but may still be pending “if everything goes according to plan,” the REM notes.

The extension adds four new stations and 14 kilometres of track located in the West Island municipalities of Pointe-Claire, Kirkland and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue:

• Des Sources
• Fairview–Pointe-Claire
• Kirkland
• Anse-à-l’Orme

“With this extension, the REM expands its service to nearly ten additional municipalities and boroughs,” officials state, noting that the light rail system will meet three Metro lines, as well as various bus networks and commuter trains. “STM bus routes have also been adjusted to facilitate connections to REM stations.”

With this new section, the REM now boasts 23 stations and 63 kilometres of track.

• READ MORE: ‘We had higher expectations’: Montreal’s REM plagued by outages

“Average daily ridership has reached 75,000 trips, with a peak of 98,000 trips recorded in a single day,” the REM said. “Data from recent months show a steady increase in REM ridership.”

Since its inauguration, the REM network has been plagued with service interruptions, including last weekend when late-night passengers were forced to walk along the tracks after an “electrical power supply” issue.

• READ MORE: REM power failure forces passengers to walk on rails to next station after midnight

Pulsar Operations and Maintenance, which runs the REM, has said several times that it is keeping a close eye on any potential failures in the hopes of curbing future errors.

Parking concerns

Pointe-Claire Mayor John Belvedere said on Tuesday that while he’s thrilled the network is finally ready to welcome riders, he still has some concerns.

The first, he tells CTV News, is parking as there is a large parking lot next to the station, but it belongs to the Cadillac-Fairview Shopping Centre.

Belvedere explains that negotiations are underway to temporarily allow commuters to park there, but it’s not a permanent solution.

Initially, the station was expected to accommodate 2,500 parking spots, but those plans were cancelled.

That means commuters will either have to take a bus to the station or be dropped off.

Belvedere says he expects most people will opt to be dropped off, and worries about the congestion that could create on the small side streets in the area.

“It’s a work in progress. I don’t know how it’s all going to work out, but it’s going to be day-to-day until we find the right solutions,” he said.

All the same, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Mayor Michel Boudreault says he believes the light rail will have a major economic impact on the area.

“That’s part of some sort of revitalization plan that we’re going to start this fall to try to bring people to Sainte-Anne with the REM station, and then they can come and go to the Eco Museum, Arboretum and then come here, shop, have some lunch. It will certainly help,” he said.

With files from CTV News’ Matt Gilmour