REM – The Karma Vanishes As REM Goes Ka-Put

Despite all the hype and hoopla with Montreal’s new REM light metro, the first day’s service was a shambles.

A stuck switch, on opening day? This is a bad omen for the light metro system.

With an at-grade tram or light rail, a stuck switch can be operated manually, but on a fully automatic and driverless light metro no, a stuck switch cannot be operated manually.

There many reasons driverless light metro systems have lost favour with planners, who instead opt for tram/LRT instead, but one is the lack of flexibility in operation if a minor problem occurs, such as a stuck switch.

The following quote from the article is telling:

“Before the REM, Leger said she took the bus into the city and it usually took about an hour. With the REM operating, and running smoothly, she estimated that it would take her about the same amount of time.

But the buses, she said, rarely had technical problems. She hoped the REM’s shutdown on Monday wouldn’t become a frequent occurrence.”

For all the billions of dollars spent, REM is seems to be not giving the transit customer a better service, just the same, but more expensive to use and that is definitely not user-friendly.

 

REM  goes Ka-Put

REM goes Ka-Put

Stuck railway switch on Montreal’s new REM to blame for morning — and evening — delays on 1st official day

Service resumed shortly after 9 a.m., after being stopped for about 1 hour

Comments

2 Responses to “REM – The Karma Vanishes As REM Goes Ka-Put”
  1. Haveacow says:

    That’s interesting, early yesterday afternoon they were reporting that the stuck turnout (switch) had also caused the line’s ATO to temporarily shutdown. I don’t know if that’s a preprogrammed defensive measures given the turnout issue or a separate problem.

    Zwei replies: It is my belief that when there is a track issue, the trains shut down and a attendant must walk along the guideway to drive the train manually until it reaches the next station, where the system is rebooted.

  2. Marjor Hoople says:

    We got this quote from our side of the pond.

    “There’s no risk to take, I did not take the REM to come to the office.”
    (Michael Sabia, who initiated the REM while he was heading CDPQ, is now taking charge of Hydro Quebec. The REM suffered two “pannes” (breakdowns) on July 31, it’s first official day of operation.

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