2023-08-02 15:49:55
Third day, third interruption of service for the Metropolitan Express Network (REM), down in both directions for regarding half an hour early Wednesday morning due to a computer problem.
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The trains might not start at 5:30 a.m. as planned, both from Central Station in downtown Montreal and from the station, Brossard, on the South Shore.
The REM actually made the announcement on its social media at 5:37 a.m., referring to an “incident.”
The subsidiary of the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec responsible for the project, CDPQ Infra, declined our interview request.
“A computer problem at the control center impacted the starting of the cars causing a service interruption in both directions,” we explain in a short email.
Listen to the interview with Andy St-André, TVA Nouvelles journalist on the Alexandre Dubé show via QUB radio :
About 25 bus shuttles from the Réseau de transport de Longueuil have been made available to users while waiting for the gradual resumption of service, around 6 a.m.
This is a computer problem at the control center that has impacted the startup.
— Metropolitan Express Network (@REM_infoservice) August 2, 2023
Third failure in three days
This is the third outage in three days since the commissioning of the new light rail.
REM – Gradual resumption of service on line A1 | Brossard-Central Station. Direction: Central Station. Scheduled resumption: Wednesday August 2, 2023 at 6:35 a.m.
— Metropolitan Express Network (@REM_infoservice) August 2, 2023
REM – Service stop on line A1 | Brossard-Central Station. Direction: Central Station. Cause: Incident. Bus shuttles available.
— Metropolitan Express Network (@REM_infoservice) August 2, 2023
REM – Service stop on line A1 | Brossard-Central Station. Direction: A1-Brossard. Cause: Incident. Bus shuttles available.
— Metropolitan Express Network (@REM_infoservice) August 2, 2023
On Monday morning, service was interrupted for more than an hour during rush hour due to a problem with the switch, the system that allows trains to switch from one track to another.
The trains once more came to a standstill for regarding an hour on Monday evening around 11 p.m., once more due to a stuck switch.
CDPQ Infra then mentioned a “break-in” period and breakdowns that would become more isolated over time.
Negative experience
“It can have an impact on people who want to leave the car to take public transit, because people remember more negative experiences,” believes Owen Waygood, full professor at Polytechnique Montreal.
The real test will be at the start of the school year, in September, according to him. “It’s better to have these start-up problems before the start of the school year, during the construction holidays”, underlines the expert in transport engineering.
The buses would have benefited from continuing to cross the Samuel-De-Champlain bridge, at least at some time, he adds.
“It wouldn’t be redundant, on the contrary, it makes public transit more robust by offering other options when there are problems,” he says.
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