Despite the health crisis, work on the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), is rapidly progressing. On Monday, Montreal's massive new light-rail system revealed the name of its final station: Griffintown – Bernard-Landry. The new station will be built between rues Ottawa and William, straddling Griffintown and the Cité Multimédia.
"Operating at a frequency of every 2.5 minutes, 20 hours per day, 7 days per week, the REM will breathe new life into the neighbourhood," the company said in a statement.
"As the link between two districts that have seen phenomenal development in the last few years, the Griffintown – Bernard-Landry station will provide essential structured transportation for the sector," Mayor Valérie Plante said.
"This station is also a tribute to the tremendous contribution made by Bernard Landry to our city's development, as it is located adjacent to the Cité du Multimédia, which has become a symbol of our former Premier's bold economic vision, the impact of which lives on today," she continued.
The official naming of the station was delayed due to a bit of controversy.
As the Montreal Gazette reported at the end of 2019, the REM and City of Montreal received pushback from members of the Irish community, which has historically settled in Griffintown, about naming the station after Landry.
All 26 stations in the network that will connect the South and North Shores, downtown, West Island, and Montreal-Trudeau Aiport now have official names.
Heading west from Griffintown – Bernard-Landry, the REM connects to the orange metro line at the Gare Centrale and the green line at McGill.
It then travels under Mount Royal to meet the blue line at Édouard-Montpetit.
After passing through the Town of Mount Royal and the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, the light-rail line splits into three routes toward its three western termini: the YUL-Montréal-Trudeau-Airport station, the L'Anse-à-l'Orme station in the West Island, and Deux-Montagnes.
Heading south, Griffintown – Bernard-Landry is the last station on Montreal Island, though the REM said it could be possible to add another station in Pointe-Saint-Charles.
Îles-des-Soeurs is the last station in the City of Montreal on the southern branch.
The REM then crosses the new Champlain Bridge, offering commuters incredible views of the downtown skyline and Saint Lawrence River.
When it lands on the South Shore, the REM travels along the Autoroute 10 highway median, stopping at Panama and Du Quartier stations before reaching the terminus at Brossard.
By foot, Griffintown – Bernard-Landry station will be less than a minute away from New City Gas, five to six minutes away from ÉTS, seven to eight minutes away from the Lachine Canal, and, in the other direction, seven to eight minutes away from rue de la Commune in Old Montreal.
How much easier will the new station make your commute?