My Alerts Montréal, November 25, 2011 – The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) presents its Triennial Capital Expenditures Program outlining close to $1.8 B in estimated expenditures for 2012-2014 and their effects on subsequent years. These essential and sustainable expenditures will allow the STM to pursue the upgrade of its equipment and infrastructure that have reached the end of their service life as well as improve services to better respond to customer needs and those of the community it serves.
« The 2012-2014 TCEP investments include 71 projects, eight of which constitute 92% of all capital spending, for a total exceeding $1.6 B. These projects are tied directly to the 2020 Strategic Plan, whose ambition is to meet the population’s need for sustainable mobility by being the most productive public transit network in North America. With the objective of providing 540 million passenger rides in 2020, the Plan will contribute to establish Montréal as an agglomeration widely-renowned for its quality of life, in addition to being a thriving economic centre with strong environmental values. These projects will help to improve service reliability and punctuality, as well as the quality of client information while creating a safe, friendly and pleasant environment with improved universal accessibility, » indicated STM Chairman Michel Labrecque.
The share of investments dedicated to the métro system represents $1.2 B, of which $713 M are earmarked for the procurement of métro railcars and the upgrading of workshops and equipment. A total of $318.4 M is dedicated to the Réno-Systèmes program, while phase I of the Réno-Infrastructures program will see investments of $101.1 M, and $34.9 M are set aside for the first phase of major renovations at Berri-UQAM station.
The STM will invest $572.1 M in its bus network. This sum will serve more specifically to finance the purchase and replacement of buses ($133.1 M), and in addition, meet its objective of converting its surface transportation network to electricity by 2030, along with a similar conversion of a regular bus line ($7.9 M). Other plans are set to implement priority measures along the network of strategic roadways ($67.2 M), carry out phase II of its infrastructure project ($130.6 M) for the construction of a new bus garage, and, lastly, replace the operations support and client information systems ($149.1 M). These investments all aim at improving transit services and, consequently, increasing ridership. As for projects pertaining to the administrative sector, they represent 1% of overall investment spending, for a total of $23.2 M.
For the 2012-2014 period, although most projects qualify for a 50% to 100% subsidy, federal and provincial governments will finance 75% of capital expenditures totalling nearly $1.4 B. Financing will be shared by Transports Québec for 61%, the federal government for 14%. The STM and the Montréal agglomeration will finance the difference, or some 25% of investments, for a total amount of $439.8 M.
« All these investments are needed to ensure that transit operations run smoothly, improve services and their quality, and develop new services. It goes without saying that these investments are essential if we are to meet our goals. More than ever, we are convinced that dedicating new sources of stable, indexed and recurrent funding to public transportation is absolutely vital, otherwise the STM will be unable to ensure its development or support its growth » concluded Mr. Labrecque.
The Triennial Capital Expenditures Program for 2012-2014 is currently available on the STM website by clicking on the following link : http://www.stm.info/en-bref/pti_12-14.pdf
– 30 –
