T.M.R. rides the gravy train

Re: “It’s not too late to reduce REM’s impact on T.M.R. (Opinion, Oct. 20) and “The long game of the Mount Royal Tunnel” (Extra, Oct. 20)

My heart bleeds for the poor people of the Town of Mount Royal, who will soon be inflicted with hundreds of REM trains every day.

As I climb onto my uncomfortable bus each morning, never knowing how long it will take to get across the Mercier Bridge to my job downtown — an hour, 90 minutes? — I will shake my head sympathetically for those unfortunate T.M.R. residents who will soon be able to stroll down to the station any time of the day or night and know that a train will be along soon to take them quickly to the heart of the city, the airport or the South Shore.

I was amused to read that in the 1940s there was a train to downtown “every two-and-a-half minutes” — similar to what the REM is proposing. That was in the days of jointed rail, which would have caused much more noise than the current welded rail.

I’ve observed the trains on the Deux-Montagnes line, and they are not very noisy at all. The REM is going to make T.M.R. the best place to live in the Montreal area, and I would be delighted to live near a fast, frequent, electric transit line like that.

The people who are complaining about the noise should be counting their blessings instead.

Graham Schurman, Châteauguay