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For the Quebec government’s 2025–2026 pre-budget consultations, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) submited prioritized pre-budget recommendations focused on local investment through the maintenance of the Montreal metro infrastructure, vital to economic security. The investment deficit for métro asset maintenance has climbed past $6 billion in the past few years alone. Yet under the current Quebec Infrastructure Plan (QIP), the proportion of funds made available for this purpose is at its lowest since 2013. Asset maintenance accounts for only 18 per cent of the government’s total investments in public transit under the QIP, compared to 82 per cent for roads and 62 per cent for the entire plan. Unfortunately, a lack of infrastructure maintenance is the number-one challenge facing public transit today—a challenge that puts the STM’s ability to keep delivering reliable quality public transit at risk, as well as security. “These figures show that more needs to be done,” says Éric Alan Caldwell, chair of the STM Board of Directors. “The métro will soon be 60 years old, and putting off maintenance work only leads to higher operating and maintenance costs and a subpar customer experience.” The STM is therefore recommending: Additional funding in the 2025–2035 QIP of $585 million over three years for métro asset maintenance programs An increase in the amounts set aside for asset maintenance in the QIP, gradually moving towards recurring, indexed funding of $560 million annually This funding would allow the STM to maintain its métro infrastructure, such as tunnels, stations, waterproofing membranes, train garages, and maintenance shops, as well as built-in equipment, such as escalators, ventilation systems, electrical equipment, and telecommunications systems. In this way, the local economy will also be stimulated, as 97 per cent of STM’s expenditures are made with more than 1,500 Quebec suppliers; a fact to consider in the context of a trade war with the United States. Asset maintenance also specifically includes rolling stock and related infrastructure. The STM’s MR-73 trains will be 60 years old in 2036 and are already only one-tenth as reliable as their AZUR counterparts. As we all learned from the AZUR project, replacing trains is a complex and time-consuming endeavour that goes well beyond the mere acquisition of rolling stock. It took about 15 years from the start of the project for the AZUR trains to be delivered-a project completed within the required timeline and budget The Green and Yellow lines will need to be modernized as well. Given the scale, impact and timeframe of the project, the STM urgently needs to begin the project studies, especially since acquiring new trains and replacing the train control system on the Green line could increase its capacity by 37%. The STM is therefore recommending: Immediate funding of $40 million for the studies needed to modernize the Green and Yellow lines, including the replacement of the MR-73 trains “The Montréal métro is the number-one way of moving people around in the Greater Montréal area with nearly 800,000 trips per day,” says Caldwell. “Service interruptions can cause severe economic damage and push more customers into cars over the medium term, which makes traffic congestion even worse and increases its already staggering costs. Clearly, maintaining métro assets is crucial for the city’s economic security and prosperity.” |
