• As 2019 comes to a close, one development we're most looking forward to watching in 2020 is the Réseau express métropolitain (REM).
• The light-rail line will connect the North and South Shores, West Island, and downtown Montreal.
• See videos of construction progress in 2019 below.
• Visit MTLBlog for more headlines.

As construction of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) progresses at a steady pace across the Island of Montreal, South and North Shores, the company has been very transparent with the public at all stages of the operation. Ahead of the expected completion of the network in 2023, the company is always updating us on the highly-anticipated metro line, providing photos, videos, and progress reports almost monthly. 

We're all excited for the future of Montreal's public transit and we're even more excited to ride the REM once it's finished!

It might not seem worth it with all the construction downtown, the West Island, and the South Shore, but remember what your mother said about patience being a virtue? 

The REM network will give unprecedented access to downtown Montreal for West Island, North Shore, and South Shore residents.

Service will be available 20 hours a day and it will only take 20 minutes to get to the airport from downtown Montreal.

Jean-Vincent Lacroix, Communications Director at REM, tells MTL Blog that "there's never been direct access through Mont-Royal, you've always had to go all the way around.

People living in Outremont, Aunthsic, Villeray, in the heart of Montreal will have access to downtown like never before." 

If you've been wondering what this is all going to look like in 2023, here's a little sneak preview! 

Thanks to REM's policy of keeping everyone informed and included in the construction process, we're blessed to have a ton of video footage available for us.

Through a series of drone footage and renderings, we're able to get a good idea of what the REM will look like in 2023.

For instance, here's everything you need to know about what's going on around McGill right now. Maybe this will calm your nerves? 

South Shore residents are also going through their own personal traffic crisis thanks to REM construction but trust us, it'll all be worth it! 

Luckily for you South Shore kids, you'll see the first trains rolling out as early as 2020.

Lacroix tells us that "our goal is to make sure that next year, the section including Rive-Sud and Du Quartier stations will be ready by fall 2020 for our representative [testing] segment."

READ ALSO: ARTM Released A Map Of What Montreal's Public Transit Network Will Look Like In The Future

"But wait," you ask, "I wanna see what it's gonna be like to ride the REM!" Well, the good folks over at REM have got you covered. 

"We see that younger generations want to have flexible hours and the REM is really designed with a vision of how we see people travelling in the future," says Lacroix.

The REM will be fully integrated into Montreal's existing network, with 19 of the 26 stations located on the island of Montreal.

2023 can't come soon enough!

How excited are you for the REM's arrival in Montreal? 

The first cars begin rolling out in 2021 and the network will be fully operational by 2023.