2023-07-30 04:47:57
Bad luck for many enthusiasts who wanted to board the Metropolitan Express Network (REM) early Saturday afternoon, on the occasion of the first open day. The heavy traffic forced the organization to no longer accept new passengers for the rest of the day.
Since the doors opened at 9 a.m., the five stations on the South Shore section, inaugurated on Friday, have been teeming with curious people. Queues overflow outside.
We had 20,000 people in three hours, said Emmanuelle Rouillard-Moreau, spokesperson for the REM. Our capacity is normally 30,000 trips per day.
According to REM spokesperson Jean-Vincent Lacroix, there were more than 60,000 visits during the first open day.
2:09
Reporting by Sarah Déry
We want the experience to be pleasant and safe for everyone, hence the reason [pour laquelle] we temporarily stop admitting people to the network, added the spokesperson, stressing that the priority is to allow users to return to their homes.
From the Brossard station to the Central station, some had to wait more than two hours to get into the new green and white cars.
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Users enter and exit the REM at Central Station in Montreal. “As there are queues, we may not be in the logic of 18 minutes [de trajet d’un bout à l’autre de la ligne] what we say in normal times,” remarked Jean-Vincent Lacroix, of the REM.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes
The organization is now inviting people who show up at stations to come back on Sunday for the second free trial day. It also asks people on board to limit the number of round trips made to give up their place to other passengers.
As there are queues, we may not be in the logic of 18 minutes [de trajet d’un bout à l’autre de la ligne] what we say in normal times, pointed out Jean-Vincent Lacroix, of the REM. [Il faudrait p]maybe plan more than an hour and a half to make the round trip.
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The new Metropolitan Express Network (REM) welcomed its first passengers on Saturday.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes
Some users met on site intended to use the train daily; others simply wanted to take part in this great premiere.
It’s an event in history, launched a passenger. And we know that our children will surely use it in 15 years to go to university.
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A REM passport.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Daniel Thomas
For the occasion, REM teams distributed passports, a nod to the passports that were handed out during the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal.
I was there for the premiere of the Montreal metro, I was there for the Expo, with my little guy of two years, said another person who came to take the train. It’s important that I see the REM to complete this.
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Alex Busby and his son Oscar try out the new Metropolitan Express Network (REM) on this first open day.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes
The South Shore section will be officially put into service on Monday. With a length of more than 16 km, this line currently includes the stations of Brossard, Quartier, Panama, L’Île-des-Sœurs and Central Station. A sixth station will be built in the South-West.
Holders of the REM passport will be able to receive a stamp for each of the 25 stations planned on the network. However, they will have to be patient before they get them all. The opening of all the stations is scheduled for the end of 2024, with the exception of that of the Montréal-Trudeau airport, which should be commissioned in 2027.
With information from Raphaëlle Drouin, Sarah Déry and Stella Dupuy
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