We could be days away from knowing the starting date for the third branch of the REM — the Anse-à-l’Orme in the West Island.
Last November, the train network expanded north by adding 14 stations to the original five, linking Deux-Montagnes to Brossard. However, the implementation of the Anse-à-l’Orme branch was delayed until this spring, so the network could undergo more tests, specifically the switching between different branches. The Anse-à-l’Orme branch includes four stations (Des Sources, Fairview—Pointe-Claire, Kirkland and Anse-à-l’Orme). It promises a 32-minute trip to downtown’s McGill station, with trains running every 10 minutes during peak periods, and 15 minutes off-peak. The network will run trains for 20 hours per day.
While testing of trains has continued since November, they could only be seen infrequently on the elevated rails that abut Highway 40 in the West Island throughout the fall and winter. In recent days, however, trains have been running on a regular basis on the tracks, during the day — at a frequency of less than five minutes at times.
The REM on the Anse-à-l’Orme branch in Kirkland on April 8, 2026. The train network is ramping up dry runs before its opening date. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
“Trains are circulating on a regular basis since the last two weeks, approximately,” Maxime Laliberté, a spokesperson for Pulsar, which operates the trains, told The Gazette on Friday. “We don’t decide on the date, but we’re circulating the trains as of now on a regular schedule — at the same pace as when service will start.”
Laliberté said a decision to begin accepting passengers will be made by CDPQ-Infra, which owns the REM.
The REM’s owners must give the Montreal region and the ARTM transit authority a 30-day notice before bringing online another branch of the network. Once notice is given, the system is put through dry-run tests, operating the trains according to their predicted schedules, with stops at each of the stations, but no one inside the trains.
The Fairview REM station on the Anse-à-l’Orme branch in Pointe-Claire on April 8, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
“We’re not specifically doing the dry-run testing yet, but we can say we’re increasing the intensity of the testing,” Laliberté said.
He added the tests are going well, but the greatest challenge remains switching between different branches.
Kirkland Mayor Michel Gibson said he also noted the increased frequency of trains, but said he has not been informed of a start date for the new branch.
“We have seen (the increased activity) also, but we haven’t heard anything from the REM’s people,” Gibson said. “But we’re ready. We have prepared invitations for the opening ceremony, we’ve gotten a press release ready, as well as a letter that we will be sending out to citizens to explain how the parking situation will work.”
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Kirkland residents will be the only ones permitted to park at a 200-space special lot built near the station in the adjacent RioCan Centre. There will be parking lots at the Anse-à-l’Orme and Des Sources stations.
Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Mayor Michel Boudreault said he, too, has not been informed about a planned launch of the network, but predicts the trains will begin taking their first passengers early next month.
Also this week, the REM’s operators gave an update on the train’s chronic breakdowns after the first winter with the Deux-Montagnes branch, and said even though there were frequent breakdowns during bad weather, there were some positive signs in the last few months.
Pulsar noted despite the breakdowns, trains arrived on schedule slightly more than 99 per cent of the time since the new branch was inaugurated last November. In February, operators put in place measures to ensure ice doesn’t build up on tracks, switches and the catenary cables that supply power to the trains, and there was a noted improvement. However, this past week, operations slowed down for an hour early Tuesday morning during cold, snowy and windy weather, according to text message alerts sent by the REM’s operators.
The Anse-à-l’Orme REM station on the Anse-à-l’Orme branch in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue on April 8, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
“We’re not saying we’re perfect, and we definitely have some challenges remaining,” Laliberté said. “We’ll also have some new challenges again next winter with the Anse-à-l’Orme branch. But we were better than last winter, and we expect to be better again next winter.”
Laliberté said the next branch could also be easier to run because its tracks are not situated above any bodies of water, and is more sheltered from the wind. Humidity from the Rivière-des-Prairies was among the causes of water infiltration into the trains, he said.
Speaking for public transit lobby group Trajectoire Québec, Brian Nash said commuters shouldn’t be satisfied with the REM’s reliability during the winter period.
“We’re starting to see some positive signs,” Nash said. “It’s been better in the last few weeks than it was in January, and especially better than last winter. But some of the challenges we saw raise questions for next winter. We hope these issues don’t continue next winter and with the new branch.”
