Yesterday, another important milestone was reached in the test period beginning in late 2020 on the Réseau express métropolitain; a first REM train, consisting of two cars, ran on one of the tracks of the representative 3.5 km segment. This is the very first time that a car has officially run on the future light metro system. In the coming weeks, these passages will increase and be observable on the South Shore.
The representative segment is made up of all the components of the automated system (telecommunications, electrical and control system, etc.), which will be present on the REM's 67-kilometre network, as well as two stations, Brossard and Du Quartier stations, equipped with platforms screen doors. This segment is located on the South Shore, between the maintenance center and Milan Boulevard (see attached map). The tests will last approximately 13 months and will allow the car and system components to be tested under different climatic conditions in the metropolitan area.
In this WeTransfer document, you will find images and a video of the first cars on the road: https://we.tl/t-FaUZmHLvGQ .
Initially, the train will run at low speed on the tracks to test its functionalities and gradually test the interfaces between each of the components of the metro system. Then, the train will go faster and faster... going from 5 km/h to about 90 km/h and then 100 km/h! Moreover, even if the REM is an automated system (and therefore without driver), a driver operator and a test team will be on board for the tests. As soon as the automatic mode is activated, the control center will be able to take over for automated driving.
Here are different elements of the system that will be tested:
Power supply (traction power, power management by the electrical substations, pantograph - catenary contact, the electrical cable that supplies the trains);
Acceleration and braking of the cars;
Accuracy of stopping between the carriages and the platform screen doors;
Quality of ride comfort, to ensure that there are no collisions or vibrations;
Communications for passengers on board the coaches.
