Pressure is mounting to finally build the long-promised Griffintown–Bernard-Landry REM station, as residents and transit advocates say the neighbourhood has become a transit desert despite years of rapid growth.
“There is no metro nearby so we need to walk like 10–15 minutes to get one,” said Griffintown resident Andy Gernet, who relies on transit to get across the city. “Having a station close by would definitely be better.”
The REM’s new Deux-Montagnes branch opened Nov. 17, but attention quickly turned to the station that wasn’t delivered.
Originally planned for 2024, the Griffintown stop is now tied to a second proposed station, Bridge–Bonaventure, a project that still hasn’t been approved.
Transit advocates say delays have dragged on for too long.
“It needs to be built, and it will pay for itself,” said Axel Fournier of the Association pour le transport collectif de la Rive-Sud.
He noted that while the station is technically difficult due to its tight urban environment, it remains “entirely feasible.”
Urban planning lecturer Pierre Barrieau says the challenge isn’t the concept, it’s the construction. Both stations are what engineers call “infill stations,” which means they would need to be inserted directly onto existing REM infrastructure.
“We would have to shut down the REM for weeks and weeks, if not months,” Barrieau said. “People from Brossard would be back on buses to get downtown.”
Still, he says ridership in Griffintown is strong enough to justify the investment, the question is whether the current funding model can support it.
The CDPQ is paid per passenger-kilometre. Adding stations downtown could increase ridership by as much as 20 per cent, Barrieau said, but would also require running more trains across the entire network.
To help finance construction, Montreal has already applied a levy on new developments within one kilometre of the proposed station.
The fee, expected to raise up to $600 million, applies to high-rises built in the area over the next several decades.
“It’s about $150 to $180 per square metre,” said real estate broker Devon Jolander. “For a 2,000-square-foot unit, that could be around $20,000.”
In a statement to CityNews, CDPQ Infra said the project analysis for the Griffintown–Bernard-Landry and Bridge–Bonaventure stations concluded building them was “technically feasible, but to minimize impacts for users and reduce costs, it is important to construct both stations simultaneously.
“These are complex constructions, as they will be built on a viaduct and on an active branch of the REM, in a dense urban environment.”
Transport Québec echoed that position in a statement, saying CDPQ Infra has confirmed the Griffintown station location and is still studying the financing and feasibility of the Bridge–Bonaventure station. Coordination between the two projects is now under government review.
As frustration from area residents grows, some say delays are no longer acceptable.
“We need to be more progressive in how we spend our transit dollars,” Barrieau said. “If we wait, we end up building the neighbourhood for cars, not people.”
“It’s not an option,” added Fournier. “They should get it built.”
