2023-07-25 00:37:59
Next Monday, July 31, the official inauguration of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) will take place. In the meantime, TVA Nouvelles offers you privileged access aboard one of the REM cars with our journalist Andy St-André, who traveled between Brossard and downtown Montreal.
• Read also: [IMAGES] Test the REM for free to facilitate the transition
• Read also: Hear the voice of the REM before you even step inside
• Read also: Do you want to be among the first REM passengers?
Our journalist’s journey begins at one of the newly built stations on the South Shore of Montreal, in Brossard.
First step is the purchase of the ticket to access the new public transport. From one of the “ARTM ticket distributors”, you can easily obtain a ticket. “It’s like the metro,” says REM spokesperson Jean-Vincent Lacroix.
Credit: TVA Nouvelles
Users must then ensure that the ticket is validated before crossing the zone, clearly indicated on the ground.
Credit: TVA Nouvelles
Credit: TVA Nouvelles
The installation of the gates, as Montreal metro users are accustomed to, will be completed in the fall.
Credit: TVA Nouvelles
The doors open; this is what the interior of the trains will look like.
Credit: TVA Nouvelles
“Inside, what is striking is the composition of the seats, the signage too,” notes journalist Andy St-André. In motion, the sensation is comparable to that of using the metro.
Credit: TVA Nouvelles
Another interesting feature: it will be possible to contemplate the view at the front of the light train with a huge bay window, because there is no driver.
Credit: TVA Nouvelles
“It’s colossal, the amount of work behind what we are going through. We can’t imagine it because that’s the purpose of the operation, ”adds the spokesperson.
You can get from Brossard to downtown Montreal in just 18 minutes.
Architect and design manager at Lemay, Alexis Légaré discovered the new station for the first time. “The challenge we had to take up was to design all the stations together, to have consistency,” he says, relieved at the end result.
A break-in period is planned, at least until September. Everything will not be perfect from July 31.
An open house is scheduled for this weekend.
Dozens of bus lines will be modified with the entry into force of the REM. Exo, in charge of this important modification, assures that everything will go “well”.
“All of the lines in the Chambly-Richelieu-Carignan and Richelain and Roussignon sectors have been reviewed. These are changes in terms of modifications to our passages, the frequency, the opportunity to travel, ”explains the executive director of customer experience at Exo, Marie-Hélène Cloutier. The reconfiguration of the network includes a total of 66 bus lines.
Also, 25 direct routes to the REM will be offered frequently to users and 230 new stops will be added to better serve more than 20,000 residents.
Exo teams will be on the ground starting next week, as well as at the start of the school year, at the Candiac-Montcalm, Georges-Gagné, La Prairie and Chambly terminals, to support users.
1690252627
#Privileged #access #Board #REM #journalist #time
