Built specifically to accommodate electric buses, the Bellechasse bus garage will not ultimately be able to accommodate them for at least a few years. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) says it must do additional work in terms of safety and technology on this site which is already experiencing its share of delays.
“We had to question the prioritization of the Bellechasse center to take into account the overall electrification strategy which provides for the upcoming receipt of 186 electric buses in a short time frame,” states the STM, in a statement in reaction to a report from Radio-Canada.
The carrier then argues that because “charging solution technologies were in their infancy at the time of planning,” it “felt it responsible not to rush into a hasty choice in terms of technologies.”
“We have chosen to gradually electrify our transportation centres to adapt to the electrification industry, an industry that is constantly innovating and evolving. […] Electrification technologies have evolved considerably,” explains company spokesperson Kevin Bilodeau.
In the short term, other challenges arise in terms of fire safety. Among other things, a sprinkler system “specially adapted to the fire risks” associated with electric batteries will be installed. And beyond the sprinkler system, a smoke extraction system to evacuate smoke from underground parking lots must be put in place.
In the immediate future, the STM says its “priority is to put this transport center into operation so that it can be used to deliver our bus service, quite simply”. “Bellechasse will be electrified in a later phase. This planning is still in progress,” notes Kevin Bilodeau on this subject.
The latest news is that the STM’s Bellechasse garage is expected to cost $584 million, which is more than twice as expensive as initially expected. The project, which began in 2019, was originally scheduled to be completed in 2022, but several problems delayed its delivery. As of today, construction of the building is scheduled to finish in the fall of 2024, at least “substantially,” Mr. Bilodeau cautiously asserts.
It is then from this moment that tests and the commissioning of the equipment “will begin and will last until 2025”, he adds.
In opposition to city hall, the mayor of Montreal North and critic of public transport, Christine Black, did not fail to denounce on Tuesday the “amateurism” of the City of Montreal in the construction file from the Bellechasse garage.
“While the estimated cost of the project has more than doubled since Valérie Plante came to power in 2017, we wonder if it will not now triple, or even quadruple. The electrification of a bus fleet cannot be done without warning. You have to plan it in advance,” lamented Ms. Black.
The latter maintains that “the Plante administration unfortunately fell into a novice trap: it announced with great fanfare the electrification of the bus fleet without properly planning the necessary infrastructure and maintenance.”
A few months ago, last November, the general director of the STM, Marie-Claude Léonard, indicated that the cost of electrification for the Bellechasse transport center is still being evaluated. “We aim to come back to you in 2024 with this amount,” she said, ensuring however that the goal remains “to stay within the envelope of 584 million”.