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Earlier this year, Montreal’s public transit authority said billions are needed to repair the Metro network, but Quebec’s new budget sets aside a mere $1.2 billion for public transit provincewide.
“We need double what we have,” said Aref Salem, chair of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) board.
The STM says underground stations are falling apart. For example, concrete was ripped out of the ceiling in Place-des-Arts station because there were concerns it would fall on passengers. Some ceilings have green, corrugated panels to catch leaks from overhead pipes.
And that’s not the worst case. The STM has a rating system for the state of its Metro stations from A to E, and 35 out of 68 stations are rated D (bad) or E (very bad).
Place-des-Arts has a D rating.
Corrugated plastic catches water from leaky pipes in the Place-des-Arts Metro station. (CBC)
Earlier this year, water infiltration shut down the Yellow line during a Monday rush hour. And in 2024, structural damage at Saint-Michel station forced officials to shut it down for more than a month.
Salem said at least $680 million is needed for infrastructure and maintenance by 2030.
“Today the deficit of the assets maintained is around $7 billion,” he said.
That will go up to $9 billion by 2030 if something isn’t done now, Salem said, and that’s why the STM is asking the provincial and federal governments to come to an agreement as soon as possible.
“We have issues with the equipment that we have. The infrastructure too,” said Salem. “The needs are more than what you get in this budget.”
Failing stations, cars
Brian Nash is with the public transit advocacy group, Trajectoire Québec. He said shutting down stations while building new ones along the Blue line makes little sense.
He said service shutdowns because of disrepair cause lasting delays, but it’s not only the stations that are deteriorating.
While the more than 600 AZUR train cars in operation on the Orange line are new, he said the older MR-73 trains are some of the oldest subway cars in the world. Those MR-73 trains break down 10 times more than the AZUR cars.
WATCH | STM needs more funding to make needed repairs, officials say:
STM says Montreal Metro stations are in bad shape. So, just how bad are they?
The Quebec government’s new budget includes $1.2 billion for public transit in the entire province. But the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) says it won’t be enough for the city’s Metro stations given the shape they’re in. How serious is the situation?
“That’s also an urgent matter that we need to focus on, the replacement of those trains. They are way past their cycle of life right now,” said Nash.
Jonatan Julien, Quebec’s transport minister, said the province is already investing hundreds of millions in Montreal’s Metro and that it will continue to do so.
“I agree with them that this is a worrisome issue because the Montreal Metro dates back to the 70s — the late 1960s — so we need to invest money in it. We’re already investing a lot,” he said.
STM says billions needed
Salem said there has been an increase in interruptions of more than five minutes in the Metro network and that is the first red flag, comparing it to New York City’s recent troubles with its own aging subway system.
“We need to invest faster. We don’t have to live the crisis New York lived,” said Salem, noting a major portoin of the city’s subway was shut down for much of last summer to make emergency repairs.
Aref Salem, chair of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) board, says the Metro needs double its current budget. (CBC)
Back in January, the STM said its infrastructure and assets were in poor condition and deteriorating every year and without adequate investment, it’s only getting worse. That’s when the STM presented a $1.8 billion budget for 2026 — essentially the same budget as last year.
The STM said it had found $56.5 million in annual spending reduction, largely due to a hiring freeze, outsourcing some adapted transport services and scaling back some maintenance activities.
Despite these cost-saving measures, the agency said it would be able to maintain service at its current level.