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Citizens push to extend REM light-rail train to Vaudreuil

Click to play video: 'Extending the REM off-island'
Extending the REM off-island
Tue, Feb 20: A grassroots movement is calling for an extension of the REM to Vaudreuil. Citizens say they don't want the new light rail system to stop in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. As Global's Tim Sargeant explains, REM officials say any extension has to first be proposed by the government – Feb 20, 2019

There is a growing movement west of the island of Montreal to extend the proposed REM light-rail train project to Vaudreuil.

Louise Craig, a Hudson resident, argues it makes more sense than ever to extend the line.

The Vaudreuil region has been one of the fastest-growing areas in Canada in recent years and continues to grow.

A new hospital is slated to be built within the next 10 years. And the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge is supposed to be replaced during that same timeframe.

“Now everybody has to be on board including the Ministry of Transport who has to reconfigure that area,” Craig told Global News.

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Craig has started lobbying on Facebook to have the REM eventually built on the new bridge.

One city councillor from Saint-Lazare supports her and will be trying to convince other mayors in the region to back the initiative.

“I spoke to my residents and I know that transportation is a huge issue. There is nothing really servicing them,” Geneviève Lachance told Global News.

It’s unclear where or how much a new REM station in Vaudreuil would cost –issues that the mayor insists need to be resolved first.

“People have to understand, before deciding anything, they have to make sure they understand the cost of this,” Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon told Global News.

The Quebec government hasn’t committed to extending the REM further west but a spokesperson tells Global News the issue will be looked at in March

Watch below: Montreal residents want to take REM to court

Click to play video: 'Montreal residents want to take REM to court'
Montreal residents want to take REM to court

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