Réseau express métropolitain

Transit Briefs: Hitachi Rail/MTA, NYMTA, WMATA, Tri-Rail, REM

New Hitachi Rail metro cars enter revenue service for the Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) Baltimore Subway Link. Also, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) celebrates a successful first anniversary of congestion pricing; the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) selects Atlantic Pacific Companies (A|P) for its Capital Heights project; Tri-Rail breaks its ridership record in 2025; and Otis completes a landmark installation at the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) light metro transit in Montréal.

(Courtesy of Alstom)

Montreal REM Segment 2 Launches

The second segment of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) officially opened to the public on Nov. 17. Delivered by La Caisse and its wholly owned subsidiary CDPQ Infra, the segment extends the

Transit Briefs: San Diego MTS, MDOT MTA/MARC, REM, Metrolinx

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and the San Diego Housing Fund partner to deliver transit-oriented affordable housing in East Village. Also, the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) will provide free MARC service to federal workers during the federal government shutdown; the Réseau express métropolitain’s (REM) Deux-Montagnes branch will begin service on Nov. 17; and Metrolinx enters into an Agreement-in-Principle to purchase a portion of track owned by CN between Bramalea and Georgetown GO stations.

The new Richards Transportation Initiative at Penn (R-TRIP), housed in the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research, will be co-led by Penn IUR Faculty Fellow Leslie Richards, who is the former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and CEO of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. She received a Railway Age Women in Rail Award in 2020. (Photograph Courtesy of SEPTA)

Transit Briefs: R-TRIP, MTA LIRR, Metra, REM

The University of Pennsylvania launches the Richards Transportation Initiative at Penn (R-TRIP), “a new hub for research, innovation, and real-world solutions in transportation.” Also, MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) ridership surpasses 300,000 in one day for the first time since the pandemic; Chicago’s Metra commuter railroad will put into service this fall a prototype café car; and the opening of two Réseau express métropolitain (REM) branches in Montreal is delayed again.

REM’s South Shore-to-Central Station automated urban rail system service (Part 1) will be closed completely from July 5 through Aug. 17, to allow for service testing on Part 2, the new REM lines linking Montreal’s West Island and the North Shore to downtown, which are due for launch in fall 2025. (First trip across the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge | July 2022. Photo ©Thierry Du Bois)

Transit Briefs: NYMTA, REM

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) offers a congestion-pricing progress report. Also, Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain (REM) will shut down temporarily this summer.

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, REM, OC Transpo

Amtrak and private sector partners convene for an industry roundtable. Also, north and west Réseau express métropolitain (REM) branches will begin carrying passengers in October; and OC Transpo reports that more than 300,000 customer trips were taken on O-Train Lines 2 and 4 in the first four weeks.

CDPQ Infra Provides Update on Montreal’s REM

Nearly six weeks after Réseau express métropolitain’s (REM) first segment was inaugurated in Montreal, CDPQ Infra on Sept. 13 provided an update on the automated rail network it is developing—from operations so

First trip across the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge | July 2022. Photo ©Thierry Du Bois

Alstom-Led Consortium Inaugurates First Montreal REM Segment

Groupe des partenaires pour la mobilité des Montréalais (Groupe PMM), a consortium led by Alstom, recently participated in the inauguration hosted by its customer CPDQ Infra, of the first segment of Réseau express métropolitain (REM), a new automated urban rail system that connects Brossard on Montreal’s South Shore with Montreal’s Central Station.

Amtrak’s Adirondack train between New York and Montreal will now terminate at Albany-Rensselaer. The move comes just three months after the Adirondack restarted. It had been discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, East-West Rail, REM, SkyTrain

Service on Amtrak’s New York City-Montreal Adirondack train is suspended north of Albany, N.Y. Also, east-west passenger rail projects in Palmer and Pittsfield, Mass., will advance with the addition of $12 million in the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) newest capital investment plan; final pre-commissioning starts this month for the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) between Brossard and Gare Centrale stations; and the launch of SkyTrain’s new Capstan Station in metro Vancouver has been delayed.

Amtrak is awarding 11 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students, who have “an active interest in the railroad industry.”

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, NYMTA, City of Montreal, TransLink

Applications are now being accepted for Amtrak’s scholarship program. Also, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unveils a strategic action plan to improve bike, pedestrian, and micromobility access at and near its facilities; city of Montreal advances the Western Link Kirkland project, providing access to the Prairies River and a new Réseau express métropolitain (REM) train station; and metro Vancouver’s TransLink fully integrates contactless Interac Debit payments systemwide.