A couple of Gare Centrale observations for those interested:
You can use the REM platforms as a shortcut from Gare Centrale’s concourse to Bonaventure. Your single registers as a transfer going through the Metro gates after the REM, so you only pay once.
There was a large queue of people in Place Bonaventure waiting for people to come out of the REM through the fire doors so they could enter. It’s madness this isn’t an official exit. I don’t know how they screwed this up.
Took a walk down to Gare Centrale and indeed the Place Bonaventure exit is open for entry!
Also some way-finding has been added, but those doors still “look” locked so people may still walk past thinking the entrance is closed. Really those doors should be propped open during hours of service.
Bonus photo: The doors to some of the other platforms into Place Bonaventure are still in place but remain exit only. I assume you can still come out this way when getting off an exo train.
Overall, this is a massive improvement in the interchange between the Orange Line and the REM.
Even the automated announcement coming in to Gare Centrale announces the station as an interchange with the Orange Line (not sure if it always did, or this is new?)
Can’t wait for the interchange with the Green Line at McGill now! Having a north / south transit axis connecting three metro lines together will be great.
@pollute_my_lungs Yes, sadly the two systems are within different gatelines. The REM wants to protect its own revenue. But, single tickets will still transfer even if you cross gatelines.
@pollute_my_lungs Yes. They were slow to put them in at first, as that’s the responsibility of the regional transit agency (the ARTM) and apparently they didn’t get enough notice.
Walking through Place Bonaventure (PB) today I noticed some more signage upstairs and outside. Unfortunately those doors only work one-way meaning after walking through I had to back track to the other side of PB to get upstairs again.
@heliomass The "new" Pace Bonaventure has much of its "ground" floor behind access control to reach rented space as well as the elevators. (though I think the south east corner elevators are still recheable by public to go to the basement to reach tunnel to Square Victoria /OACI). (elevator banks are at each corner of the building). (the Hotel has its own elevators from what is now a closed off section of the ground floor to the hotel level).
@jfmezei I mean, the bottom line is it’s a private building and it’s a hack to turn it into a transit thoroughfare. If they’d done it properly they would have coordinated with the STM to build a dedicated transfer tunnel. At least it looks like McGill will be done right.
@heliomass Place Bonaventure was a public building ,one of the premier shopping malls in montréal, as well as where all the large trade shows were held. And the hotel had at least one bar that was nest to its lobby at shopping mall level (south west area) and there were also cinemas. HOWEVER:
The metro connection was designed to bring you to the centre of the mall in big atrium and then force you to backtrack to "Le Passage" in order to add foot traffic in the mall (highly inefficient).
@heliomass The big red line is the rough extent of the Bonaventure metro station on de la gauchetière between Peel and Mansfield. And ypu can see the extent of the train tracks under the space between Mansfield and University (Robert Bourassa). They start to narrow under de la gauchetière. (metro platforms at 150m long). because CDPQ used "middle" tracks, passengers have to go up above tracks and then go back down to metro level.
@heliomass The "connection" between the REM and the Métro here is terrible. I often have to help people find their way. A clear REM-green line on the ground would help a lot to make the way clear, though not to make the connection any better. At least when the later stations open, we will have a better transfer option.
@uneabeille I think the issue of having a private building in-between the two stations doesn't help, but they could have planned this better. At least the situation is slowly improving. The other day, the doors to the REM were even propped open!
@heliomass CDPQ doesn't own Place Bonaventure and would have to negotiate with it to transform those doors. Those doors were negotiated with CN at the time. CDPQ bow owns the track level so would have to negotiate with Place Bonaventure which has no desire to see increased foot traffic as it is no longer a shopping mall. So merely to serve its tennants if the tennants request it.
@jfmezei This is exactly what the ARTM is for. They had years to figure out a solution. But the way the news reports it you’d think this situation took everyone by surprise.
@heliomass The minute CDPQ purchased the tracks/platforms and gates from CN and Cominar at central station, ARTM had no power over them. ARTM only has powers on trasit agencies, not private investment firms.
And CDPQ only announced it had purchased the elevated tracks south of Place Bonaventure, did not disclose they also bought the tracks in the station from CN. CDPQ had not put up proper signage in Cominar property si wouldn't expect them to have negotiated for doors at Place Bonaventure.
@heliomass The place you were at with the innocuous brown doors to the lower level on that image Second picture taken approximately from where first one was taken on the main floor. No longer that large "hole" with stairs going down. The space formerly occupied by stores are now part of rentable offices. STM, Fido are main tennants. (Fido started off with its offices there taking up what used to be called a Mart (wholesale floor) and each mart level had a letter, not a number.
@heliomass At the time the CDPQ were transforming Central station, that portion of Place Bonaventure was closed for total reconstruction. The place is not recognizable except for the wall against de la Gauchetière and those brown doors.
Place Bonaventure was a huge shopping mall, and convention/exchibition centre, above which were wholesale offices, above which was the hotel. Also a cinema between shopping level and tracks below (fancy engineering to isolate vibration from trains).
@heliomass The origin of those doors between Gare Central and Place Bonaventure. Before it was built, there were accesses to those platforms from de La Gauchetière. So they recreated these accesses from within Place Bonaventure when the later was built.
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