Montreal's STM Berri-UQAM Station Is About To Be Under Construction For Two Years
Berri-UQAM is the busiest station in the Montreal STM system.
Take my advice: avoid it at all cost during rush hours. Between the hours of 4pm and 6pm on weekdays especially the station is a complete mess.
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The platforms are dangerously overcrowded. STM police offers have to scream at people to form orderly lines and avoid holding open train doors. Only three or four people can enter a train door at one time because the vehicle is already suffocatingly packed.
Thankfully, the station renovation that took years has finally come to an end. Before that, construction was a major impediment to daily commutes.
Commuters had thought that that harrowing time had finally receded into distant memory. But unfortunately, they were mistaken. That was only phase one.
The STM now plans to resume construction at the hectic station. This time, work will take over two years!ย
Construction crews will install new elevators so that people with physical disabilities can better reach the green line platform. Such an installation is long overdue. The Montreal STM has received wide criticism for its lack of accessibility.
The mezzanine area, the level where passengers pass through gates and buy tickets, will undergo renovation as well. The thirteen shops on that level will also receive face lifts.
While most work will be completedย during night hours, narrowed passageways will affect commuters' movements.
In sum, this is good news. The renovations will provide infrastructure that will better service visitors' needs and, hopefully, expeditie passage through the station.
But the two years of contruction are going to be nightmarish. It all begins this coming Monday.