REM suffers yet another rush-hour outage, deploys shuttle buses

Montreal's light-rail train network suffered yet another service breakdown during Tuesday morning rush-hour, just a day after it ended its offer of free rides to commuters.

The outage was announced just after 7 a.m. 

According to a social media posted from the REM account on X, "a technical issue" was to blame for the service interruption between the Gare Centrale station in downtown Montreal and the Panama station, which is the last stop on the South Shore before Montreal-bound riders get on the island.

At the time, the REM said the service resumption time was "undetermined" and that shuttle buses would be deployed. 

In an update about 30 minutes later, the REM said the technical issue was causing "a service modification."

Essentially, service would resume between the South Shore stations and the Île-des-Soeurs station. But once riders get to Île-des-Soeurs, they would need to get off to continue their trip towards downtown Montreal.

It's unclear when riders will be able to go from the South Shore to the Gare Centrale station without needing a platform change.

For three weeks, riders did not need to pay to get on the REM — although the service hours were limited to morning and afternoon rush hours during that time.

This week, Montreal's light-rail train network ended its offer of free rides to commuters. The service is now scheduled to run Monday to Friday between 5:30 a.m. and about 8:40 p.m., with shuttle bus services being offered at night after the last train ride.