REM “neighbors” in L’Île-des-Sœurs complain about noise
The commissioning of the REM on L’le-des-Sœurs is scheduled for late spring.
More than 250 residents of L’Île-des-Sœurs, who live a few kilometers from the new REM station, have signed a petition to demand the construction of a noise barrier. They claim that the sound of the moving train affects their quality of life. For its part, CDPQ Infra, the subsidiary behind the REM, claims to seek solutions.
The commissioning of the Île-des-Sœurs REM station is scheduled for June, but tests are underway and therefore empty trains are already passing on the tracks between Brossard and the center -city of Montreal.
During rush hour, REM trains run every 3 minutes 30 seconds, then every 7 minutes 30 seconds outside rush hour, 20 hours a day. day, 7 days a week.
At the information session on public transit in L’Île-des-Sœurs organized Monday evening by the borough of Verdun, the ARTM and CDPQ Infra, one of the signatories of the petition denouncing the noise generated by the REM, Charles Gref, expressed his concerns to officials.
If he is not against the REM project as such, Mr. Gref, who has lived in L’Île-des-Sœurs since 1980, affirms that the rumble of the trains is “a major nuisance” to his quality of life “especially after investing so much money” in a condo.
“From the Champlain Bridge, almost 50 feet have been brought closer to Sax 3 [the condo tower where he resides]. When you lie down and the windows are closed, you can not hear any cars except for a motorcycle or a sports car with a modified exhaust system. It's not every three or seven minutes,” he said during the question period.
Measures in progress
After recalling that the REM was still in the test phase, the director of public affairs for CDPQ Infra, Virginie Cousineau, mentioned that sound level meters were installed “in places where people notice a significant change in their environment”. One of them is also posed at Mr. Gref.
The director of operations and maintenance for CDPQ Infra, Mario Beausoleil, explained that other measures have also been taken or will be taken soon to reduce the noise of trains on the rails. It mentions “greasing” the wheels and “brushing” the rails. “There are several small points that we are looking at today, but rest assured that we are on it. All of our teams are working on this point that you raised,” added Mr. Beausoleil.
What would satisfy Charles Gref more would be the installation of a wall that would reduce noise for residents of nearby condo towers. “Are you ready to go to that point so that we can keep a certain quality of life and our investment?” he asked.
According to Mario Beausoleil, this would be the last step considered, “once you have a good technical and scientific knowledge of the thing”. “There are several solutions that we are looking at. We are not excluding anything at this time and we are not including anything yet. We don't have enough technical information to rely on something solid,” he said.
