Investment fund to use CN’s Central Station for public transport project

CDPQ Infra has signed an agreement to acquire the aerial structure leading to Central Station in Montreal from Canadian National Railway and use the station as an intermodal hub for its REM public transportation network.    Infrastructure investment fund CDPQ Infra has signed an agreement to acquire the aerial structure leading to Central Station in Montreal from Canadian National Railway (CN) for its Réseau électrique métropolitain (REM) public transportation project.
   Under the agreement, the REM will be able to use the station as an intermodal hub linking four metropolitan areas and run under CN’s tracks in the Pointe-Saint-Charles area. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
   The REM is a new 67-kilometer integrated public transportation network that will link downtown Montreal, the South Shore, the West Island (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), the North Shore (Deux-Montagnes) and the airport via a fully automated electric light rail system.
   The agreement also provides for the acquisition of land, buildings, structures, bridges and rail infrastructure between Bridge St. and Saint-Antoine St. in a central area of Montreal.
   In addition to facilitating the integration of different public transportation networks through Central Station, the agreement allows CDPQ Infra to significantly reduce the impacts of the REM project on the city, the firm said in a statement.
   According to CDPQ Infra, using existing structures will allow the company to develop the REM without demolishing city heritage buildings, such as the Rodier Building, and other residential and commercial structures, and eliminates the need to build parallel tracks.
   The firm said the agreement will not affect the use of Central Station for passenger service by Agence metropolitaine de transport’s Mont-Saint-Hilaire line, Amtrak, and VIA Rail.
   “This agreement crystalizes the vision we had for the REM, that of a unified system, integrated into the urban fabric,” CDPQ Infra President and CEO Macky Tall said of the deal. “We are truly grateful for CN’s collaboration in helping us find solutions, particularly in facilitating the REM’s access to Central Station, the network hub. This speaks to the seriousness and commitment of a partner who, like us, seeks to improve the fluidity and efficiency of transportation in the Greater Montréal area.”
   “Considering the key role played by rail transportation in the fight against climate change, CN is proud to be able to facilitate the implementation of this major project that will benefit and develop the Greater Montréal area,” added Janet  Drysdale, vice president of corporate development at CN.