Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Canada’s second-biggest pension fund, has plans to build a 42-mile rapid transit network, known as the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), linking downtown Montreal, South Shore, West Island, North Shore and the airport. It will be an electric and fully automated light rail transit network.
The REM will be connected with bus networks, commuter trains (Mascouche and Saint-Hilaire lines) and with the Montréal metro (Blue, Green and Orange lines).
Main financing sources for the project include $2.95 billion from La Caisse, and $1.28 billion each from the Government of Québec and the Government of Canada.
Potential economic benefits from the project include adding more than $3.7 billion to Québec’s GDP over four year, adding more than 34,000 direct and indirect jobs, and providing close to $5 billion in private real estate developments along the route.
Once completed, the REM will be one of the largest automated transportation systems in the world after Singapore, Dubai and Vancouver.
A more detailed overview of the project can be found here.
