{"id":553848,"date":"2026-03-22T19:49:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T19:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/553848\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T19:49:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T19:49:30","slug":"stm-says-montreal-metro-needs-far-more-than-quebec-is-offering-to-keep-wheels-turning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/553848\/","title":{"rendered":"STM says Montreal Metro needs far more than Quebec is offering to keep wheels turning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Montreal\u2019s public transit authority said billions are needed to repair the Metro network, but Quebec\u2019s new budget sets aside a mere $1.2 billion for public transit provincewide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need double what we have,\u201d said Aref Salem, chair of the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de transport de Montr\u00e9al (STM) board. <\/p>\n

The STM says underground stations are falling apart. For example, concrete was ripped out of the ceiling in Place-des-Arts station<\/a> because there were concerns it would fall on passengers. Some ceilings have green, corrugated panels to catch leaks from overhead pipes.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n

Place-des-Arts has a D rating. <\/p>\n

\"greenCorrugated plastic catches water from leaky pipes in the Place-des-Arts Metro station. (CBC)<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, water infiltration<\/a> shut down the Yellow line during a Monday rush hour. And in 2024, structural damage at Saint-Michel station<\/a> forced officials to shut it down for more than a month.<\/p>\n

Salem said at least $680 million is needed for infrastructure and maintenance by 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cToday the deficit of the assets maintained is around $7 billion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That will go up to $9 billion by 2030 if something isn’t done now, Salem said, and that\u2019s why the STM is asking the provincial and federal governments to come to an agreement as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have issues with the equipment that we have. The infrastructure too,\u201d said Salem. \u201cThe needs are more than what you get in this budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Failing stations, cars<\/p>\n

Brian Nash is with the public transit advocacy group, Trajectoire Qu\u00e9bec. He said shutting down stations while building new ones along the Blue line<\/a> makes little sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said service shutdowns because of disrepair cause lasting delays, but it\u2019s not only the stations that are deteriorating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | STM needs more funding to make needed repairs, officials say:\"\"<\/p>\n

STM says Montreal Metro stations are in bad shape. So, just how bad are they? <\/p>\n

The Quebec government\u2019s new budget includes $1.2 billion for public transit in the entire province. But the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de transport de Montr\u00e9al (STM) says it won\u2019t be enough for the city\u2019s Metro stations given the shape they\u2019re in. How serious is the situation?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s 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,\u201d said Nash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jonatan Julien, Quebec\u2019s transport minister, said the province is already investing hundreds of millions in Montreal\u2019s Metro and that it will continue to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree with them that this is a worrisome issue because the Montreal Metro dates back to the 70s \u2014 the late 1960s \u2014 so we need to invest money in it. We’re already investing a lot,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

STM says billions needed <\/p>\n

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\u2019s recent troubles with its own aging subway system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to invest faster. We don\u2019t have to live the crisis New York lived,\u201d said Salem, noting a major portoin of the city’s subway was shut down for much of last summer to make emergency repairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"man\"Aref Salem, chair of the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de transport de Montr\u00e9al (STM) board, says the Metro needs double its current budget. (CBC)<\/p>\n

Back in January<\/a>, the STM said its infrastructure and assets were in poor condition and deteriorating every year and without adequate investment, it\u2019s only getting worse. That\u2019s when the STM presented a $1.8 billion budget for 2026 \u2014 essentially the same budget as last year.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Despite these cost-saving measures, the agency said it would be able to maintain service at its current level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-553848","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}