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Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said the province should consider extending the métro’s Blue Line using an above-ground rail system.

The métro’s five-kilometre extension to Anjou has been much talked about, and announced in 2013 by the previous Parti Québécois government, but its cost remains an issue, with estimates ranging as high as $1 billion.

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Coderre originally floated the idea of an above-ground extension Tuesday, in a scrum of reporters after the announcement that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec would build a new light-rail system on the Champlain Bridge, and a train to the airport from downtown.

He noted that light-rail infrastructure is far less expensive than digging underground, so perhaps a light-rail system should be an option for the métro’s Blue Line.

Quebec Transport Minister Robert Poëti told Radio-Canada last week the Blue Line’s extension could be above ground, but said the extension is not a priority right now, and the government has four years to make a decision about the future of the line.