In an anonymous vote based only on voice samples reading the same script, Québec actress Caroline Dhavernas, aka Voice B, was selected to be the new voice of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) network.
Dhavernas has appeared in TV series such as “Les beaux malaises” and “Mary Kills People”, as well as in the movies “De père en flic II” and “Hochelaga terre des âmes.”
More than 35,300 votes were cast to select the voice of the REM network with Dhavernas receiving 40 percent of the vote. In a way, voicing the transit system is a role Dhavernas was born to play – her mother, Michèle Deslauriers, has been the official voice of Société de transport de Montréal since 2003.
“My mother voices the metro. When I got the call for the audition, I thought it’d be really funny, and figured since it’s a public vote, it would be out there, and we’d see if the stars aligned. And now that it worked out, I can’t believe it,” said Dhavernas.
The REM project includes a new 67-km (41.6-mile) automated light-rail network across the greater Montréal area. CDPQ Infra, which is constructing the REM network in partnership with the city of Montreal and government of Québec, is also pursuing REM de l’Est, which plans to add 32 km (19.8 miles) to extend the project on the east end of Montréal.
Stakeholders report the first trains are expected to start running in 2022 from the South Shore to Bonaventure-Central Station followed by other branches of the network, which will gradually be put into service in 2023-2024.
To hear Dhavernas’s voice, as well as the other options, visit REM’s website.
