Important Lessons from Montreal’s implementation of the REM
- Mahmud Hassan
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Montreal is often considered to be one of the most liveable cities in Canada, but like many metropolitan cities across North America, Montreal is seeking to expand its public transportation network. One important way it tries to do so is through the construction of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), a fully automated light electric metro. Once the project is fully completed, it is expected to transport over 160,000 passengers across the city, through 66 kilometres of track connecting 26 stations (Couillard, 2023) (Reece, 2025). This would make it one of the world’s largest automated electric systems, and interestingly, for a much lower price tag compared to similar transportation projects being constructed to reduce car dependency across North America. In this article, we shall explore what makes the REM so effective, and the numerous lessons can other North American cities take away from similar initiatives to improve their walkability.
Firstly, an important feature of the REM is that it’s the product of a public-private partnership. Traditionally, many infrastructure projects within Canada have been publicly owned and governed, meaning that the government was responsible for all aspects of the project, such as financing and implementation (Investopedia, 2024). However, in recent years, many local governments are choosing to collaborate with private-sector companies, who help finance, construct and operate the project, spreading any associated risks and reducing any burden on the government. The REM was created as a result of such a public-private partnership between the Quebec government and a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement (CDPQ) known as CDPQ infra (Curbcut, 2024). With this, CDPQ infra was responsible for the majority of the costs, being the majority shareholder with a stake of $4.58 billion, as well as the implementation and execution of the project. This meant that the construction was conducted at a much faster rate, especially due to the government’s help in procuring the necessary permits and the company's wide expertise in construction, as evident within their wide real estate portfolio. Therefore, it is clear that by partnering with CPDQ and relinquishing some control of the project, the government was able to deliver much more than they would have for the residents of Montreal, giving them a much more livable city.
Another ingenious aspect of the REM’s lower cost was Montreal’s ability to utilise existing infrastructure to fit the needs of the light rail. For instance, instead of drilling a new tunnel through mount royal, the city along with the CPDQ decided to find a way to use the existing 3-mile tunnel (The Flying Moose, 2025) and although unexpected world war era explosives found in the tunnel increased construction costs it still would have been much cheaper than constructing a brand-new tunnel in the middle of the city. Moreover, most of the REM runs/is planned to run through existing rail corridors as well as running along highways (Reece, 2025). Although these locations sometimes aren’t the most ideal, they save valuable time and money, ensuring that these services reach residents sooner. Thus, from these examples, we can that cities should absolutely try as best as they can to incorporate existing infrastructure within their plans as it is not only economically rational but encourages creative solutions that take into account the current landscape rather than constructing an entirely new one.
Lastly, the creators of the REM made smart design choices that enabled them to not only save costs but also make the entire operation much more efficient. For instance, in 2018, the REM settled on a standardised simple design for all 26 stations, one that was easily replicable. This meant that many of the materials needed could be purchased in bulk, and that the construction of future stations was less likely to run into complications due to the previous experiences learnt from constructing past ones. This goes against the trend of making train stations much more avant-garde and unique, as seen in many other transport infrastructure projects, which focus on spectacle rather than efficiency. The REM reminds us that at the end of the day, stations are simply meant to provide easy access to transportation lines, and by keeping things simple, they can deliver their service much faster and for a much cheaper cost.
Ultimately, as many cities try to modernize and expand their public transport, the REM model, although with its own faults, presents an inspiration of how good transport can be achieved feasibly. It further helps to show that public-private partnerships between governments and companies can provide much good to ordinary residents of cities, and that governments shouldn’t be too weary of the loss of control if it means a lesser financial burden and a more liveable city. Hopefully, once it is fully complete in 2027, it can inspire greater change to the car centric cities that not only dominate North America but most of the world.
References
Couillard, P. (2023). Building Public Transit Infrastructure: The REM Experience in Montréal. Strategy Corp Institute. https://strategycorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/StrategyCorp-Institute-REM-Report-EN-.pdf
Curbcut. (2024, March 4). Montreal’s REM and the public-private-partnership behind it. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NnLkKlKG9o
Reece. (2025, November 15). Is the REM the Future of Canadian Transit Expansion? Substack.com; Next Metro. https://nextmetro.substack.com/p/is-the-rem-the-future-of-canadian?sort=new
Taege, L. (2023, October 24). On Track for Success: Decoding Montreal’s REM Model for Efficient Transit Projects in the U.S. Transitcenter.org. https://transitcenter.org/on-track-for-success-decoding-montreals-rem-model-for-efficient-transit-projects-in-the-u-s/
The Flying Moose. (2025, September 17). How Montreal’s miracle metro could change everything. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlHqqA0onn0
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