3 central Montreal stations added to LRT plans

Quebec's pension fund manager wants toadd three new central Montrealstations to its alreadyambitious electric light rail project, bringing the cost of the proposed network to nearly$6 billion.

When the Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubecinitially unveiled the project earlier this year, it envisioned 24 stations stretching from the South Shore to Trudeau airport and into the West Island. Now the Caisse is proposing a 27-station network.

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One of the new stations will connect to the douard-MontpetitMetro station, one will connect to the McGillMetro station, and one will be built in the Peel Basin.

It is estimated the threenew stations will add $400 million to the $5.5 billion already projected for the LRT.

The Caisse is committing $100 million to the cost of the new stations, and the City of Montreal is also kicking in $100 million. Quebec Transport Minister Laurent Lessardsaid the province will also contribute, but will provide details of its contribution later.

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Faster downtown commutes promised

The three new stations will significantly improve transit service to downtown Montreal and further integrate the new LRT with the existing Metro system, the Caisse said at a news conference Friday morning.

At a technical briefing with media, the Caisse saidthe trip between the new douard-Montpetit and McGill stations would take between two and three minuteson the new LRT. Taking the Metrobetween those two stations currently takes around 30 minutes.

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The Caisse argued the new stationswill help alleviate congestion on the Metro system, particularly on the Orange line south of the Blue line.

The station in the Peel Basin will have two entrances, one providing access north towards Griffintown and one providing access south towards Pointe-Saint-Charles.

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The douard-Montpetit station will be 70 metres below surfaceand require the excavation of 25,000 cubic metres of rock. A proposed design for the station features four high-speed, high-capacity elevators.

"With theseproposals which are solid and, if I may, elegant, the LRT continues to take shape,"saidMichaelSabia, theCaisse'sCEO.

"They give us a network that positions us for the future, a network that gives ourcity infrastructure equal to our ambitions."

The LRT network is scheduled to begin operating in 2020, though funding still has to be finalized. The Caisse has pledged to cover $3.1 billion of the final tab, with the balance expected to come from the federal and provincial government.

Why expand the project?

Sabiaexplained there were three advantages to the pension fund's decision to expand its original plans for the LRT.

The first, he said, was to improve flow of public transit in the city. The second was to increase access to the future light rail network.

The initial plan, which connects western parts of the island to downtown, drew criticism from residents on the eastern part of the island. Moreover, the Quebec governmenthas signaled thatfunding the LRT takes precedence over financing for the long-promised but never delivered eastern extension of the Metro's Blue line.

Sabia said the new stations will "expand access to the LRT to all Montrealers, including eastern residents who use the Blue and Greenlines.

He added the new stations will "accelerate economic development of the greater Montreal area."

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