REM de l'Est

The REM de l'Est (French: [ʁɛm də lɛst]; lit. "Eastern REM") was a project of eastward expansion of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), the developing light metro network serving the metropolitan area of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Announced on December 15, 2020, the project was to be built by CDPQ Infra, the institutional investor behind the original REM and the infrastructure subsidiary of Quebec's public pension fund manager, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). Spanning 32 km (19.88 mi) and 23 stations, the REM de l'Est would have expanded rapid transit coverage of Montreal's East Island, an area generally considered underserved by public transport. The automated light metro system would have linked downtown Montreal to Pointe-aux-Trembles, on the eastern tip of the island, and to Montréal-Nord, in the northeast. With its estimated cost of $10 billion, it would have been the largest investment in public transport in Quebec history. While polling indicated local favourability to the project, it was prominently criticized for its majority use of elevated rail, especially in a downtown section over René-Lévesque Boulevard, which generated concerns of urban disfigurement, fragmentation and noise pollution. On May 2, 2022, the Quebec and Montreal governments abandoned the idea of a downtown link, leading CDPQ Infra to back out of the project. The REM de l'Est was immediately replaced by the Projet structurant de l'Est (PSE, lit. 'Eastern Structuring Project'), an expansion project now being helmed by Montreal's regional transport agency, the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM). While it initially kept being referred to as the "REM de l'Est" in media, the PSE has moved away significantly from its predecessor and is now planned as a tramway system.