Montréal Yellow Line Connected to Wireless

May 28, 2015

As thousands of clients will use the yellow line to access various summer activities via the Montréal métro in the coming weeks, Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and its partners, Bell, Rogers, TELUS and Videotron announced the rollout of the wireless network on this entirety of the yellow line of the underground métro.

Users will now have access to leading-edge 3G, 4G and 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) wireless technologies when travelling between the island of Montreal and the South Shore, specifically, between Berri-UQÀM and Longueuil stations. The tunnel connecting Berri-UQÀM to Jean-Drapeau station is the longest stretch of tunnel the partners had to light up - representing 2,362 metres of mobile connectivity.

This latest deployment phase of the wireless network in the Montreal métro builds on the additional stations launched on the Orange line corridor earlier this year between Sherbrooke and Place-d’Armes stations, and a section of the Green line between Guy-Concordia and Berri-UQÀM stations. For its part, Berri-UQÀM station, the metro’s busiest station with 12.6 million annual rides is now fully connected.

Montreal métro users can now access one of the world’s first underground transit systems equipped with 4G LTE technology. More than ever, they can stay connected while they travel, with calls, text messages, streaming videos and music all at their fingertips. Professionals travelling by métro also benefit from optimized productivity, fully leveraging the functionality of their smart devices while commuting.

An overview of the deployment of the wireless network in the Montreal métro:

  • Divided into five phases with a completion window of four to six years, deployment of the wireless network is made possible through a $50 million investment equally shared among Bell, Rogers, TELUS and Videotron.
  • Deployment will continue over the next two years, with priority given to the busiest stations. Work continues on the downtown stretch of the orange line west of Place d'Armes station.
  • The agreement between telecommunication service providers was reached through Transgesco, the STM’s commercial subsidiary. Transgesco’s mission is to generate commercial revenues from the STM’s assets, while providing public transit commuters with a better experience and value-added services.