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The opening of the Deux-Montagnes branch of Montreal’s REM light-rail system this week has been described by some as a game changer, cutting travel times for many commuters.

The new line departs from Deux-Montagnes, crosses Laval and the West Island before passing through the Mount Royal tunnel to reach downtown.

It also connects to Montreal’s Metro system at Édouard-Montpetit, McGill and Bonaventure stations, and continues on to the South Shore branch of the REM, which opened in the summer of 2023.

A look at a map of the network shows 20 stations dotting the rail line connecting Montreal’s North and South shores — and all are open save for one: Griffintown—Bernard-Landry, located between Ottawa and William streets.

It has left many wondering: What happened to the station first slated to open in 2024 — and will it ever become a reality?

WATCH | What’s behind the holdup:

Will Montreal’s Griffintown ever get the REM station it was promised?

Nineteen REM stations are now in service around the greater Montreal area, and the Anse à l’Orme branch is slated to open in 2026. But questions still remain about one station originally planned for the network’s South Shore line.Construction linked to Bridge-Bonaventure station

According to Francis Labbé, a spokesperson for CDPQ Infra — a subsidiary of Quebec’s pension fund manager responsible for the development of the REM — the construction of the station is a complex undertaking.

It’s linked — at least for now — to a proposed station as part of former mayor Valérie Plante’s plan to redevelop the nearby Bridge-Bonaventure area that straddles the Sud-Ouest and Ville-Marie boroughs.

Labbé said following a request by the City of Montreal for the additional Bridge-Bonaventure REM station, an analysis of the project was carried out.

While the construction of both stations is “technically feasible,” Labbé said the study emphasized the need to build both stations at the same time rather than consecutively “to minimize the impact on users and reduce costs.”

Still, he says managing construction around an active and busy transit line in dense urban areas will prove challenging.

Pierre Barrieau, a transportation lecturer at Université de Montréal, said the work could lead to weeks or even months of closures and service disruptions.

“That would mean the line would go from Brossard to Nuns’ Island then we would have to bus people from Nuns’ Island all the way to downtown or reopen the old express buses parallel to that,” he said. “People on the North wouldn’t be able to go on the South Shore anymore.” 

Proposed station not a done deal, Transport Ministry says

For some South Shore commuters, the opening of the Griffintown—Bernard-Landry station can’t come soon enough.

Axel Fournier, a spokesperson for the Association pour le Transport Collectif de la Rive-Sud, an advocacy group made up of transit users, says the opening of the REM has meant the loss of a “strategic” bus stop that was close to Old Montreal.

“Now people must go, because of the REM, to the Central Station and get back to Old Montreal, they lose about 20 minutes per day,” Fournier said.

“So people are frustrated that this station is not being built.”

Fournier said any future disruptions will be worth it and “less inconvenient than having to walk 20 minutes.”

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Transport Ministry said that while CDPQ Infra had reiterated its commitment to building a station in Griffintown in 2023, the Bridge-Bonaventure station isn’t a done deal.

“To date, the addition of the Bridge-Bonaventure station to the network remains to be confirmed, as an analysis of its financing is underway,” wrote Sarah Bensadoun.

The Griffintown—Bernard-Landry station was promoted as a link between downtown and the booming southwest area, parts of which lack many public transit options. 

No firm opening date for either station has been announced, but in the meantime, work continues on the remaining branches of the REM.

The Deux-Montagnes branch was originally supposed to open in 2024 at the same time as the Anse-à-l’Orme branch.

The latter will connect downtown Montreal to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and is expected to open in the spring of 2026, while the airport branch, connecting Pierre-Elliott Trudeau International Airport to the network, is scheduled to open in 2027.