Yellow line extension considered as Quebec looks to develop South Shore's public transit

With the light-rail network slated to connect Montreal to Brossard in 2021, the Quebec government is scrambling to develop public transit along the South Shore's east-west corridor.

To kickthat effort off, the province will invest$60 million to determine whichmode of public transitshouldbe developed and no option is off the table,announcedChantal Rouleau, the junior transport minister, on Sunday.

"We'rekeeping all doors open," she said, citing possibilities such as extending the Yellow line andredeveloping Taschereau Boulevard.

"We really want to let the specialists make the most appropriate recommendations."

Anew office will be established to study options for the east-west transit corridors, comingup with a plan by the summer of 2021.

Brossard will have three stops along Rseau express mtropolitain (REM) network, connecting to Montreal along a north-south route, but those three stops are far from many South Shore commuters.

"How do we maximize the east-west axis as quickly as possible?" asked Christian Dub, the minister responsible for Montrgie.

"And how do we ensure that all South Shorecitizenshave access to a network of the same quality as the REM on the north-south axis?"

The South Shore hasreached a stage where an east-west corridorcould extend from La Prairie to Boucherville, saidLongueuil's mayor, Sylvie Parent, who welcomed Quebec's announcement.

A similar development office did the work that eventually becamethe REM project currently underway.

Montreal's public transit agency, the STM, saidthe Longueuil-Universit-de-Sherbrooke Metro station was the fifth busiest of the subway network in 2017, servingnearly eight million passengersthatyear.