CDPQ Infra will delay the opening of a $5 billion light-rail system in Montreal due to “exceptional and unpredictable events,” according to Bloomberg.
The 67-kilometer (42-mile) Reseau Express Metropolitain (REM) rail line, is one of the largest construction projects now under way in North America. On Oct. 21, REM’s website announced that the Brossard-Central Station segment, the branch linking the South Shore to Montréal through five stations, will open next spring.
The first stretch of the line was originally set to open in 2021 but was pushed back to mid-2022, then December, according to Bloomberg. CDPQ Infra attributed the latest delay to the discovery of old underground explosive charges, supply chain problems, the war in Ukraine and inflation.
“For more than two years, the construction of the REM has been taking place in an exceptional context (pandemic, conflict in Ukraine), causing impacts on supply chains, the price and availa
