Quebec’s pension fund manager, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), is recommending a tramway as the best mode of transportation to improve mobility in Quebec’s capital.
The report from the Caisse, now in the hands of the Legault government, recommends a three-phase plan and the use of smaller train cars than originally proposed, according to information obtained by Radio-Canada from sources close to the matter.
The decision came after the Caisse‘s experts looked at half a dozen corridors that could accommodate a new third-link highway, ultimately deciding it was not warranted at this time to improve mobility in the region.
The Caisse is instead in favour of the tramway with a first phase linking the Le Gendre and Charlesbourg hubs, as envisioned by Mayor Régis Labeaume’s administration back in 2018.
It is also proposing bringing the tramway to D’Estimauville in a second phase and the Lebourgneuf sector in a third phase.
These recommendations were presented to the CAQ on Monday, Radio-Canada reports. The mayors of Quebec City and Lévis are also due to receive their own presentation on Tuesday.
The Caisse also recommends reducing the size of the tramway’s train cars in order to reduce project costs as well as downsizing the stations and tunnel connecting Quebec City’s upper and lower neighbourhoods.
Smaller cars would also help limit the project’s footprint, and possibly save some mature trees along the route — a key concern for some residents in the Montcalm neighbourhood, the report says.
CDPQ Infra as possible manager
How the city will bring the tramway project to life remains unclear.
Radio-Canada reports that CDPQ Infra didn’t rule out managing the project, but the terms of a possible partnership with the government would have to be negotiated.
The new bill tabled by the minister responsible for infrastructure, Jonatan Julien, should also make it possible to reissue a call for tenders for the tramway in “collaborative mode,” in order to better share the risks.
Quebec City believes it is capable of assuming control of the tramway project through its municipal project office.
In his final plea to the government last November, Quebec City mayor Bruno Marchand stated that he could deliver the tramway at a cost of $8.4 billion.