The REM is finally here. You can ride it for free this weekend
CBC
The Réseau express métropolitain (REM), the massive light rail project whose first line, connecting the South Shore to downtown Montreal, opens this weekend and will be free for the first two days.
On Saturday and Sunday, you can take the REM for no charge from any of its five stations: Brossard, Du Quartier, Panama, Île-des-Sœurs and Gare Centrale.
The trains are currently running. The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), the agency responsible for operating the REM, is conducting tests.
But the agency wants users to get on board, both to stir up hype so people are more inclined to take the REM when it becomes fully operational on Monday, July 31, and to iron out any final kinks.
Between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, anyone will be allowed to hop on board one of the driverless trains that will be running along the full length of the tracks and which are scheduled to become fully operational on Monday.
As of that date, users will have to pay a fare to board a train.
The ARTM says users can access the REM stations by foot, bike, car or Metro for the Gare Centrale station, which is steps away from the Bonaventure Metro station on the Orange line.
It's expected to be a party, of sorts, according to the ARTM. Near the Gare Centrale station, there will be music, treats and other surprises to mark the REM's first day.
The REM has been in the works since 2015. It is the largest public transit project in Quebec in decades.
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