Flying in or out of Montréal-Trudeau this fall? Build in a few extra minutes. Construction on the REM airport station is now affecting traffic at the terminal on weeknights, even as test trains speed up on the line toward YUL. Here’s what’s changing for travellers, where the project stands and what still has to happen before you can ride a train from downtown to your gate.
The weeknight closure at YUL
The airport announced on Oct. 27 that the arrivals drop-off area will be closed on weeknights from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. until Dec. 19, according to CTV News. The closure is due to construction of the future REM station, and airport patrol staff will redirect traffic to the departures ramp during those hours.
- When: weeknights, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., until Dec. 19
- Where to go instead: follow staff directions to the departures ramp
- Tip: if you’re picking someone up on a late flight, agree on a meeting point in advance and allow extra time
Where the REM airport station stands
The station, built by the airport authority (Aéroports de Montréal, or ADM), sits about 35 metres below ground. When CTV toured the site in April, officials said the $600-million station was on time and on budget. Project director Steeve Bouffard said passengers will arrive about 100 metres from the check-in counters, with a ride of 26 minutes from downtown. The goal is for the REM to carry about 20 per cent of the 35 million passengers the airport expects each year, easing congestion at the curb as YUL works through a $10-billion renovation.
Faster test runs
Testing on the track is moving ahead. The REM says that dynamic testing began on the airport branch in August, and in an Oct. 22 update it said that since Oct. 17, cars have been running automatically at high speed as far as Marie-Curie station, reaching up to 100 km/h in some sections to replicate real operating conditions.
It has been a year of milestones on the airport segment. The first train ran on it on Jan. 9, the testing phase started in August and the high-speed automatic runs began in October. The REM explains that “dynamic testing” covers every test done while components of the network are in motion, to check them against the industry’s reliability and safety standards.
What still has to happen
- Testing continues until quality, reliability and safety standards are met.
- The test zone expands as construction progresses at the airport station, which is ADM’s responsibility.
- The branch is integrated with the rest of the network.
- A trial run simulates full service without passengers.
- Then, opening for passenger service. The target remains late 2027.
Why it matters
Anyone who has crawled up the airport ramps at rush hour knows the problem. ADM spokesperson Anne-Sophie Hamel told CTV the airport has seen “issues with congestion coming into the airport” and lacks the road capacity for the passenger growth of recent years. A direct rail link is meant to take a big share of those cars and taxis off the road, and to put YUL in line with major international airports that connect straight to their downtowns. The “trial run” stage will be the final dress rehearsal: trains will run at the planned frequency, with everyday scenarios tested, but without passengers.
The bigger REM picture
The airport branch is the last piece of the 67-kilometre automated light-rail network linking downtown with the South Shore, the North Shore and the West Island. The South Shore branch opened in 2023 and the northern branch two years later, and the West Island’s Anse-à-l’Orme branch opened on May 18 with stations at Des Sources, Fairview–Pointe-Claire, Kirkland and Anse-à-l’Orme.
In the meantime, a temporary bus route 815 linked Des Sources station to the airport in under 20 minutes this summer and fall, but it was scheduled to run only until Oct. 19. Looking further ahead, the REM has also begun planning two additional stations in the Sud-Ouest: Griffintown–Bernard-Landry, on the north side of the Lachine Canal, and a station in the Bridge–Bonaventure area.
Getting to YUL this fall
- Leave extra time on weeknights, especially for late arrivals.
- Check the airport’s traveller advisories before you go.
- Consider public transit or a drop-off at the departures level during closure hours.
Infrastructure is shaping a lot of daily life in Montreal this fall, from the Mercier Bridge to the city’s snow-removal overhaul and the effects of the municipal strike. Follow it all in our News section. Bon voyage!
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Photo: Harrison Keely / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Sources: CTV News (closure), CTV News (station), REM (Oct. 22), REM (August), CTV News (bus 815), REM (new stations)
