Reasons not to rally behind REM

Re: “There are many reasons to rally behind the REM” (Opinion, April 7)

Quebec Liberal ministers André Fortin, Martin Coiteux, Carlos Leitão and Geoffrey Kelley argue in favour of the Réseau express métropolitain, saying it will significantly cut commuting time. That’s highly debatable, given the proposed circuitous route to the West Island, compared with the existing commuter train.

They point out that financing is already secured for the REM, but ignore that the government must pay a high annual subsidy to the Caisse de dépôt — and that the Caisse would be the first to receive any dividends from the REM (up to an eight per cent return) under a “dividend allocation proposal” contained in the 2017-18 Quebec budget.

Nor do they mention the high costs of driverless train technology, which requires that the system be built above or below ground.

However, I do agree with the ministers that the Parti Québécois proposal — to add two morning departures to the West Island train and to run a tramway to the airport — is entirely inadequate.

It would be better to run a train line exclusively dedicated to passengers alongside either the existing CP or CN line. This would be both quicker and cheaper than the REM project.

Robert Hajaly, Montreal