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It was a crazy idea, but one that shaped downtown Montreal and gave birth to the region’s first transit-oriented suburb.

Sunday will mark 100 years since the first passenger train was pulled through the Mount Royal Tunnel. Its construction was a remarkable engineering feat, especially for the time, and at 4.9 kilometres, it is still one of the world’s longest train tunnels.

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The tunnel shaped downtown Montreal, making it possible to build Place Ville Marie and the Queen Elizabeth Hotel; gave birth to the Town of Mount Royal, the country’s first public-transit-oriented suburb; and led to a development boom on the northern part of the island.

However, despite its profound effect, it never lived up to its full potential. Or not so far, but observers believe that is about to change as the centenary of the Mount Royal Tunnel’s very low-key unveiling coincides with plans to loop it into the new Réseau express métropolitain.