Construction of $600M rail link to Montreal airport is on track: officials

Officials at Montreal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) say a new $600-million light-rail station remains on schedule for completion next year.

As reported by the Toronto Star, project director Steeve Bouffard says the REM station is roughly 80 per cent finished and is staying on time and within budget, even as some challenges remain.

Crews are reportedly focused on completing the walls, installing electrical systems, and building a distincive architectural element designed to resemble an iceberg.

The airport connection will be the last piece of the Montreal region’s light-rail network, which will include 26 stations spanning 67 kilometres.

The first segment, linking Brossard to Central Station downtown, opened in 2023. A 30-kilometre line to the northern suburb of Deux-Montagnes began service in November, and a second-to-last branch serving the West Island is expected to open this spring.

The airport extension is planned to begin operating in late 2027.

No queues for parking or taxis

The REM offers a direct connection to the airport, unaffected by traffic, with a travel time of about 26 minutes from downtown. When travellers arrive at the station, they will use elevators to reach the terminal.

“They are at about 100 metres from the check-in counters, which is very close,” said Bouffard, as quoted in CTV News.  “You take the train from downtown in 26 minutes, you’re at the airport. No queue for parking, no queue for taxis. You’re getting in, you’re there, it’s almost all in.”

When finished, the station is projected to handle around seven million passengers annually—roughly one-fifth of the 35 million travellers the airport anticipates serving by 2035. 

Time to modernize

The new station at Montreal’s airport is a key piece of a $10-billion, 10-year plan to modernize the facility so it can accommodate rising passenger numbers and ease congestion.

The project also includes rebuilding access roads, adding new drop-off areas, constructing a multi-level parking garage, and expanding with additional gates.

Montreal remains one of the few major cities that does not yet have a rail link to its airport.

“I think it’s something that’s been a long time coming at the airport, having this means of transportation from the airport to downtown,” airport spokesperson Anne-Sophie Hamel told The Star. “We’ve seen in most big international airports around the world, they have that type of service that connects to the downtown, so we’re pretty excited to be able to offer that to our passengers and our employees as well.”

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