Quebec's pension fund manager wants to add three new central Montreal stations to its already ambitious electric light rail project, bringing the cost of the proposed network to nearly $6 billion.

When the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec initially unveiled the project earlier this year, it envisioned 24 stations stretching from the South Shore to Trudeau airport and into the West Island. Now the Caisse is proposing a 27-station network.

One of the new stations will connect to the Édouard-Montpetit Metro station, one will connect to the McGill Metro station, and one will be built in the Peel Basin.

It is estimated the three new stations will add $400 million to the $5.5 billion already projected for the LRT.



The Caisse is committing $100 million to the cost of the new stations, and the City of Montreal is also kicking in $100 million. Quebec Transport Minister Laurent Lessard said the province will also contribute, but will provide details of its contribution later.

The proposed design for the Édouard-Montpetit stations features platforms built 70 metres below the surface. (CDPQ Infra)

Faster downtown commutes promised

The three new stations will significantly improve transit service to downtown Montreal and further integrate the new LRT with the existing Metro system, the Caisse said at a news conference Friday morning.

At a technical briefing with media, the Caisse said the trip between the new Édouard-Montpetit and McGill stations would take between two and three minutes on the new LRT. Taking the Metro between those two stations currently takes around 30 minutes.

The Caisse argued the new stations will help alleviate congestion on the Metro system, particularly on the Orange line south of the Blue line.

The station in the Peel Basin will have two entrances, one providing access north towards Griffintown and one providing access south towards Pointe-Saint-Charles.

The Édouard-Montpetit station will be 70 metres below surface and require the excavation of 25,000 cubic metres of rock. A proposed design for the station features four high-speed, high-capacity elevators.

"With these proposals which are solid and, if I may, elegant, the LRT continues to take shape," said Michael Sabia, the Caisse's CEO.

"They give us a network that positions us for the future, a network that gives our city infrastructure equal to our ambitions."

The LRT network is scheduled to begin operating in 2020, though funding still has to be finalized. The Caisse has pledged to cover $3.1 billion of the final tab, with the balance expected to come from the federal and provincial government.

The proposed design for the McGill LRT station. (CDPQ Infra)

Why expand the project?

Sabia explained there were three advantages to the pension fund's decision to expand its original plans for the LRT.

The first, he said, was to improve flow of public transit in the city. The second was to increase access to the future light rail network.

The initial plan, which connects western parts of the island to downtown, drew criticism from residents on the eastern part of the island. Moreover, the Quebec government has signaled that funding the LRT takes precedence over financing for the long-promised — but never delivered — eastern extension of the Metro's Blue line.

Sabia said the new stations will "expand access to the LRT to all Montrealers, including eastern residents who use the Blue and Green lines.

He added the new stations will "accelerate economic development of the greater Montreal area."