• 2000: The Ministère des Transports du Québec gives the RTC the mandate to carry out an opportunity and feasibility study for the insertion of a tramway along the Metrobus routes.
• 2003: The study recommends the construction of a tramway network in the city.
• 2005: The City adds the tramway to its 2005-2025 Master Development Plan.
• 2010: The City committee for sustainable transport submit a report. It recommends to build a tramway line by 2030.
• 2015: Second feasibility study. The City chooses bus rapid transit instead of tramway.^[9]
• 2017: Six weeks after municipal elections, the reelected mayor (Régis Labeaume) goes back to a tramway concept.
• 2021: The City launches the procurement process for the construction of the tramway.^[10]

2003: First attempt edit

In 2003, the Réseau de transport de la Capitale publishes an opportunity and feasibility study on a light rail system following a government request in 2000. The study shows that a tramway system could be positive for the city. The initially presented project proposes to insert the tram along the existing 800 and 801 Metrobus axes. Those routes pass through high-population-density sectors. With a length of 21.5 km (13.4 mi), the infrastructures would take four years to build. The service frequency would be 5 to 10 minutes.

2010: Project presented by the City Committee for sustainable transport edit

On June 10, 2010, the City Committee for sustainable transport recommended to build two tramway lines for $1.5 billion. The first line would be 22.6 km (14.0 mi) long. Starting on the Saint Lawrence south shore, trams would cross the Quebec Bridge, then run along Laurier Boulevard, going through the Laval University campus, down Côte Nérée-Tremblay, along Charest Boulevard to the Quebec Courthouse. From there, they would go north, taking Capucins Boulevard and Chemin de la Canardière to finally end in the future D'Estimauville Ecodistrict. The second line would separate from the first line in Saint-Roch neighbourhood to service Quebec Parliament Hill with a final stop near the Grand Théâtre de Québec. That line, 6.6 km (4.1 mi) long, would link the Grand Théâtre to Charlesbourg. It would pass through Pointe-aux-Lièvres, ExpoCité to Galeries Charlesbourg. A possible extension would be in the Upper town in the direction of Sainte-Foy.

This project was finally abandoned in 2015 in favour of bus rapid transit (SRB). The bus project was in turn cancelled in April 2017 following the withdrawal of the Lévis municipal authorities.

2018: Structure-enhancing public transit network edit

In December 2017, a few weeks after the November municipal elections, reelected Mayor Régis Labeaume said his election promise for a new transport system would after all take the form of a light rail system. The current political context enables a great investment from provincial and federal governments in public transit, unlike the 2010 project.

In March 2018, the City, along with the Government of Quebec, announced the construction of a 23 km (14 mi)-long tramway line for $3 billion.^[11] At that time, the line would link Charlesbourg to Cap-Rouge, passing through Quebec Parliament Hill via a 3.5 km (2.2 mi) tunnel. The Quebec City tramway was to be in service in 2026.^[12]

2020–present: Reassessment of tramway project edit

In November 2020, Quebec's environmental review board (BAPE, part of the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, and Fight Against Climate Change) turned down Quebec City's $3.3-billion tramway project proposal. In the report, BAPE stated that planners should have also considered a subway or light rail system, rather than a tramway. The BAPE also states that the existing tramway proposal does not do enough to serve the city's suburbs, which are rapidly growing. Furthermore, BAPE questioned whether a tramway system could cope with the city's winter weather or how it would be integrated into the landscape.^[13] Quebec's Transport Minister, François Bonnardel, announced that the government was withdrawing the support for Quebec City's proposed tramway network, which he said will not go ahead unless it is reconfigured to better serve the suburbs.^[14]

As of March 18, 2021, an agreement was reached to move the tramway project forward. The eastern terminus became D'Estimauville instead of Charlesbourg, and reserved bus lanes would be added on highways to suburban Haute-Saint-Charles. The province promised $1.8 billion in financing for the tramway, the federal government promised $1.2 billion, and Quebec City would contribute $300 million.^[15] In June 2021, the opposition party in Quebec City, Quebec 21, proposed a light metro in place of a tramway revival, a proposal rejected by the mayor.^[16]

By January 2022, the project costs had increased by $600 million due to a late project start, inflation and increased costs to acquire land. The projected cost was approaching $4 billion.^[17]

By November 2023, the estimated cost of the tramway had reached $8.4 billion. Quebec City mayor Bruno Marchand proposed a three-stage implementation of the line. Eastward from Pôle Le Gendre, stage 1 would run to Université Laval, stage 2 to Jean-Paul-L’Allier, and stage 3 to Pôle D'Estimauville. The first stage would open in 2029, and the entire line would be complete by 2031. There may be multiple consortia involved in the project.^[18]

On November 9, 2023, Quebec premier François Legault refused the new plan from the city right before the construction was about to begin, suspending the project. He ordered Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to take over and conduct an additional 6 months of studies on top of the 20 years of studies the project has already gone through.^[8]

Procurement edit

In April 2022, Quebec City started the selection process for a supplier of light-rail vehicles. In February 2023, Alstom Transport Canada Inc. was the successful bidder. Besides supplying the vehicles, it will also maintain them for 30 years.^[4] The contract calls for the construction of 34 Citadis Spirit LRVs with an option for 5 more to handle any increase in ridership.^[19] The contract is worth $1.34 billion of which $569 million is for building the vehicles and $768 million is for 30 years of maintenance. Vehicle maintenance is not considered part of the $4 billion capital cost of the line. The Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) will pay about $25 million per year for vehicle maintenance. The vehicles will be assembled at Alstom's factory in La Pocatière starting as early as November 2023.^[3] Alstom will provide operator training for RTC staff.^[6]

Construction edit

Despite a late project approval in 2021, studies and preliminary work began from 2019. Land acquisitions, drilling and archaeological excavations were also carried out from 2019.^[20][21] The first major works took place in Saint-Roch, from March 2021, with the transformation of Rue de la Couronne and Dorchester Street.^[22] In 2022, other works began on Chemin des Quatre-Bourgeois and Boulevard Laurier.^[23] All these so-called "preparatory" or "pre-work" sites aim to move the underground pipes to prevent them from being under the tram tracks.^[24]

In April 2023, the city announced that construction would start in 2024 instead of the summer of 2023, thus the projected project completion date became 2029 instead of 2028.^[6] However, with the Legault announcement in November 2023 to suspend the project and transfer it to CDPQ, this is now impossible.

The Quebec City Tramway is a 19.3-kilometre (12.0 mi) light-rail line running between the city districts of Cap-Rouge in the west and Maizerets in the east.^[4] The line will have 29 stations of which two will be underground. Five of the stations will be designated as transfer hubs (French: pôles d’échanges). The average distance between stations will be 690 metres (2,260 ft).^[1]

The following table lists stations from west to east. Stations use one of the following platform configurations:^[25]

• Centre: centre or island platform serving both tracks
• Parallel: two parallel side platforms facing one another directly opposite each other
• Offset: two side platforms each located separately at different sides of an intersection

Pôle de Sainte-Foy edit

The Sainte-Foy transfer hub will be located within the quadrilateral bounded by the streets: Avenue Lavigerie, Route de l’Église, Boulevard Laurier and Boulevard Hochelaga. The station will have a large passenger building covering the tramway tracks and platform. The building will have a heated waiting area, washrooms, and ticketing and information facilities. The hub will have two bus terminals, one for RTC buses on the west side of the tracks, and another for STLévis buses on the east side. (Sixty percent of station ridership is expected to come by bus from the city of Lévis.) There will be with 7 bays for buses coming from the west and 5 bays for those coming from the east. The hub will also have a bicycle parking area.^[31]

There will be a 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long tunnel under the city district Saint-Jean-Baptiste, connecting the upper to lower town. The upper tunnel portal will be opposite the Grand Théâtre de Québec near the intersection of Boulevard René-Lévesque Est and Avenue Turnbull. The lower portal will be in Rue de la Couronne on the west side of Jardin Jean-Paul-L'Allier. The tunnel will be 15 metres (49 ft) to 40 metres (130 ft) below the surface. A tunnel would avoid the steep grades that would result from a line built on the surface. The floor slabs at the tunnel portals will have heaters to melt snow in winter.^[32]

The tunnel will have two underground stations: Colline parlementaire and D'Youville. These two stations will have a few common characteristics. Both are designed by the architect Anouk Boucher-Pilon and will feature wood, ample window lighting and mural art. Both stations will have stairs, escalators and at least one elevator. Each station will have only one entrance. Station ventilation will be via the tunnel portals; normally there will be no other ventilation within the stations. In case of fire, people could evacuate via the tunnel portals; there will be ventilators to clear smoke.^[32]

The entrance to the station Colline Parlementaire will be located in front of the Marie-Guyart Building between Boulevard René-Lévesque and Promenade des Premiers-Ministres. The entrance building will have exterior walls clad in limestone and a green roof.^[32]

The entrance to the station D'Youville will be located at the intersection of Rue Saint-Joachim and Avenue Honoré-Mercierin, and will be accessible from Rue Saint-Jean and Avenue Honoré-Mercierin. The entrance building will be clad in brick and have a partially green roof. The exit at Rue Saint-Jean will be in an existing building.^[32]

Frequency of service along the line will be every 4 to 8 minutes in peak periods and 8 to 12 minutes at other times.^[33] Tramway service will operate from 5AM to 1AM. The line will have a maximum capacity of 3,900 passengers per hour. Trams will operate in reserved lanes and have priority at traffic lights.^[34]

A trip between Université Laval and D’Estimauville is estimated to take 43 minutes by Métrobus with a variation of -2 to +10 minutes. The same trip by tramway would take 25 minutes with a maximum variation of +2 minutes.^[33]

The maximum tram speed will vary depending on the location of the right-of-way. Off street, such as between Chaudière and McCartney stations or in the tunnel, the maximum speed will be 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph). But where the street space is closely shared with pedestrians such as between Jean-Paul-L'Allier and Pôle de Saint-Roch, the maximum speed will be 30 kilometres per hour (19 mph). On a boulevard, the maximum speed will be 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) such as between CHUL and Place Sainte-Foy stations. On narrower arteries, the maximum speed will be 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph).^[33]

The line will use 34 Alstom Citadis Spirit vehicles.^[3] The project's vehicle specifications called for vehicles to be 43 metres (141 ft) long and have a capacity of 260 passengers each, 4 times the capacity of a regular bus. The trams were expected to accommodate 3.3 passengers per square metre.^[34]

The Operation and Maintenance Centre (French: Centre d'exploitation et d'entretien – CEE) will be located along Rue Mendel between the stations Pôle Le Gendre and Chaudière.^[2] The site occupies an area of 3.62 hectares (8.9 acres).^[35] A U-shaped building will provide indoor vehicle storage as well as maintenance functions such as motor repairs, paint shop, vehicle wash and the repair of doors, windows, air conditioning or light fixtures. The facility will also contain a control centre to monitor operation of the line.^[2]

• Réseau de transport de la Capitale

• Official Website (in French)
• Map of the line (in French)