Dry run has been launched on South Shore section of Montreal Réseau express métropolitain (REM) consisting of simulating the future service without passengers as well as testing the operations in different contexts with trains running at the same frequencies as during commissioning. This is the pre-commissioning phase of the South Shore section between Brossard and Gare Centrale stations.
Groupe PMM – Operation and Maintenance, the company responsible for network operation and maintenance, simulates a series of typical service days, with frequent passages. The entity is testing the way trains are functioning at the storage centre, the automated departure and return of cars from storage to the tracks, the fleet management based on cleaning and maintenance requirements, service schedule management and overall rail system reliability as well as other elements.
Besides the regular service trials, the teams are carrying out the “degraded mode” simulations, in which a malfunction or breakdown is simulated at random every day. This for example includes the management and controlling the beginning of a fire or a door blocked in the station by a person in the control room. The teams must apply the appropriate procedures for the simulated incident, as in reality. In particular, this enables us to test troubleshooting procedures in the control room and on the tracks, the coordination of actions launched between the field and the control station, as well as safety and service quality procedures. The simulations also cover the implementation of the downgraded situation management plan, resumption of service after an incident and adequacy of messages broadcast throughout the network.
The start of the dry run is not a confirmation of the commissioning date which is expected to be announced after all these trials are successfully completed.
In order to bring the REM into service, four out of five crucial milestones have already been achieved or are in progress including the simulated operation, completion of electrification work, test area extended to Montreal, the dry run and commissioning.
Once the date has been confirmed, the inauguration of the line from Brossard to Gare Centrale stations will be scheduled. This section is 16.6 km long served by five stations which when becoming operational, it will provide services 7 days a week, 20 hours a day.
Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is a new 67 km automated metro system with 26 stations in Greater Montreal linking city’s downtown, the South Shore, the West Island, the North Shore and Montreal-Trudeau airport. Offering high-frequency service, the REM will be also connected to the existing Montreal’s three metro lines.
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