Alstom-led consortium to provide Montreal with driverless light metro system

The Alstom-led consortium, Groupe des Partenaires pour la Mobilité des Montréalais (PMM), with SNC-Lavalin, have signed a contract with CDPQ Infra to deliver a completely automatic and driverless light metro system for the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project in Montreal, Canada.

The total contract, including rolling stock and signalling, as well as operation and maintenance services, is worth approximately €1.8 billion with Alstom’s share estimated at €1.4 billion and SNC-Lavalin’s share at €400 million.

Upon completion, REM will be 67km long with 26 stations, connecting downtown Montreal to the South Shore, the North Shore, the West Island and Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

Groupe PMM is now contracted to supply 212 Alstom Metropolis metro cars, Alstom’s Urbalis 400 driverless and automated communications-based train control (CBTC) and Iconis control centre solutions, as well as platform screen doors, Wi-Fi connectivity and 30 years of operations and maintenance services.

During the construction and the operation and maintenance period, permanent and high-quality jobs will be locally created, for workers and suppliers that can contribute to the project. Of the overall economic activity generated, 67 per cent of the investments will be in Quebec. 

“We are honoured that CDPQ Infra has chosen Groupe PMM for this major public transit infrastructure project that will not only positively impact mobility in the Greater Montreal area, but will also create 250 direct, long-term jobs in Quebec, with peak local employment reaching 350 jobs,” said Jérôme Wallut, Senior Vice-President of Alstom in North America.

The REM project will lead to the creation of an Alstom global centre of excellence in Montreal for the research and development of integrated systems of control in urban mobility.

Present in Canada and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Alstom is committed to delivering a wide range of smart mobility solutions to Canada, from Citadis Spirit light rail vehicles for Toronto and Ottawa to Azur metro cars to the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), Coradia Lint regional trains for Ottawa to long-term vehicle maintenance and transit infrastructure solutions.

The start of commercial service on the first segment of REM is expected in summer of 2021.