WCTR 2023

Technical visits

IMPORTANT: Since places are limited, we ask you to only register for one technical visit. If you register to more than one visit, we will select only one visit for you.
Please respect this rule in order to let other people attend technical visits as well.

We now allow you to sign up for multiple tours! (just make sure that they are not at the same time)


Registration link: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/wctr2023montreal

1. Montreal airport REM station in construction

Come visit the construction site of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) station, which will provide fast, direct service between Montréal-Trudeau Airport (YUL) and Downtown Montreal. This new light metro-type mode of transport will have 26 stations and will cross the greater Montreal region over 67 km. During the visit, you will have an exclusive view of the scale of this major project and learn more about the progress made so far. In 2027, YUL will be connected via this transportation system to downtown in less than 25 minutes.

  • Date: Monday July 17th, 8:40 am to noon
  • Important: You will need to bring your metro ticket provided by the WCTR conference in order to take the 747 bus.

2. Colibri: cargo bike delivery logistics hub

We invite you to visit the Colibri Iberville center, inaugurated in 2022. The Colibri Iberville center is a shared logistics space for sustainable last-mile delivery, and this visit will be conducted in partnership with Coop Carbone. You will have the opportunity to learn and discuss about last-mile logistics and also see some cargo bikes!

  • Date: Monday July 17th, 8:40 am to 11:45 am
  • Important: You will need to bring your metro ticket provided by the WCTR conference in order to take the Montreal subway and bus.

3. Montreal Port Authority

Visit the state-of-the-art facilities of the Port of Montreal. Accompanied by Daniel Dagenais, vice-president of port performance and sustainable development as well as Julien Baudry, director of public affairs, this visit will showcase the Viau container terminal, grain terminal and the control centre. The visit will end at the Grand Quay (old Port of Montreal) with a visit of the Port of Montreal Tower.

  • Date: Monday July 17th, 8:25 am to 11:45 am
  • Important: You will need to bring your metro ticket provided by the WCTR conference in order to take the Montreal subway and bus.

1. STM metro control centre, electrical and ventilation plant

Visit of the centralized command and control center of the metro (75 minutes), followed by the visit of the Providence district, recovery and ventilation station (75 minutes)

Thanks to the Centralized Command and Control Centre, the STM provides integrated management of the metro's data. The visit will give you an overview of modern, high-performance and scalable facilities, nothing less than the nerve center of the metro system. We also invite you to visit the technical premises of our underground network, which houses the equipment necessary for the ventilation, power supply and electrical distribution of the tracks. 

  • Date: Monday July 17th, 1:15 pm to 4:30 pm
  • Important: You will need to provide a your passport number for safety reasons. You will also need to wear pants and bring closed work shoes (or, in last resort, provide your shoe size number so we can find a pair for you). You will also need to bring your metro ticket provided by the WCTR conference.

2. Exo commuter rail maintenance centre in Pointe-St-Charles

This visit will showcase Exo's train maintenance center in Pointe-Saint-Charles. Exo is the public operator of commuter train lines in the Greater Montreal area.

This facility features modern buildings and infrastructures near downtown Montreal. This 23,500 m2 site includes a parking area for several trainsets in an outdoor garage, an inspection shop, a major repair shop, and a wheel profiling shop. This visit also features two new CRRC cars will be on display during the technical visit. Your visit will finish with a train ride back to Gare Centrale.

  • Date: Monday July 17th, 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm
  • Important: You will need to provide a copy of your passport for security reasons. You will also need to bring closed shoes and wear pants.

3. Montreal Port Authority

Visit the state-of-the-art facilities of the Port of Montreal. Accompanied by Daniel Dagenais, vice-president of port performance and sustainable development as well as Julien Baudry, director of public affairs, this visit will showcase the Viau container terminal, grain terminal and the control centre. The visit will end at the Grand Quay (old Port of Montreal) with a visit of the Port of Montreal Tower.

  • Date: Monday July 17th, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
  • Important: You will need to bring your metro ticket provided by the WCTR conference in order to take the Montreal subway and bus.


1. Walking tour of the Saint-Henri neighborhood

Embark on a 2.5 km walking tour of Montreal's Saint-Henri neighbourhood and discover projects and infrastructures that promote pedestrians’ accessibility. Starting at the Lionel-Groulx Metro station, this immersive tour takes you through the vibrant streets, back alleys and parks of this lively and surprising community. Ending at the revitalized Lachine Canal, you will witness the transformation of urban spaces, encouraging a more active and engaging way of experiencing the surroundings while improving people's overall health and well-being.

  • Date: Tuesday July 18th, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
  • Important: You will need to bring your metro ticket provided by the WCTR conference in order to take the Montreal subway.

1. Bicycle tour of Montreal's cycling infrastructure (NEW!)

Join us for a wonderful urban biking tour accompanied by Jean-François Pronovost, ex-vice-president at Vélo Québec and now transportation advisor at the city of Montreal. This biking tour will showcase the key elements of Montreal's cycling infrastructure and will be mostly in downtown and in the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighborhood. A BIXI bicycle will be provided to you (the bikes used in the Montreal bikesharing network) and the tour will be about 2 hours long (around 7 km).

  • Date: Wednesday July 19th, 6:00 pm to 8:15 pm
  • Important: Unfortunately, we cannot provide any helmets. Therefore, you must be comfortable riding a bicycle without a helmet or you must find your own. By signing up for this tour, you understand and agree that any injury that may occur while riding the bike is your responsibility.

1. Brand new REM light rail metro

Accompanied by CDPQ Infra's Vice President Operations, Denis Andlauer, participants will have a privileged tour of the REM network's central station (Gare Centrale), the terminal station of the southern branch (Brossard) and the network's control center. The Réseau express métropolitain (REM) is a new fully automatic light rail transit system. It will comprise 26 stations and run 67 km through the Greater Montreal area. Commissioning of the first antenna is scheduled for the coming weeks.

  • Date: Friday July 21st, 1:45 pm to 5:00 pm

2. Montreal airport: cross-border baggage sorting facility & de-icing center

Come and witness the cross-border luggage room, a unique place of its kind! This room, whose baggage handling system was developed by ADM Aéroports de Montréal and Alstef Group, brings together all the most advanced technologies – both for handling equipment and for the management computer system. It also meets all the very specific requirements of US Customs and Border Protection.

Following the visit to the cross-border baggage room, you will have the chance to visit Aero Mag, a dedicated entity specializing in aircraft de-icing and glycol recycling. The glycol recycling plant is located within the facilities of the de-icing center at YUL, so that the glycol used is completely recycled, reduced to a concentration and recertified by regulatory agencies for aircraft de-icing. YUL was also the first airport in the world to reduce glycol to a minimum concentration of 99.5% and to reuse it as a certified product for de-icing aircraft.

  • Date: Friday July 21st, 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm
  • Important: You will need to provide a picture of your passport (or other official ID) ahead of time in order to attend. You will also need to bring your metro ticket provided by the WCTR conference in order to take the Montreal subway and bus.

3. BusPas: technological platform for mobility and the smart city

BusPas developed a cutting-edge smart display integrated into bus stops, called SCiNe. Fully equipped with IoT sensors and powered by battery and solar panel, collecting valuable data and using AI to enhance users' experience and operators’ efficiency. It's the foundation of larger ecosystem for sustainable mobility in smart cities.We would like to share our innovative smart display  to show how we can improve passenger’s experience, operator efficiency, and city operations. Our product enhance also the security at the Bus Stop.

  • Date: Friday July 21st, 2:00 pm to 3:45 pm

4. Vélo Québec: cycling programs and Montréal cycling infrastructure (NEW!)

Accompanied by Stéphane Blais, director of expertise and research, hear about Vélo Québec's various cycling programs and outreach campaigns in the province of Quebec. This visit includes a tour of Velo Québec's HQ, named the House of cyclists, a visit of Vélo Québec's cycling education facility and finally a quick tour of some cycling infrastructures in the city of Montreal. Please note that this visit will be done by foot.

For more information about Vélo Québec: https://www.velo.qc.ca/en/

  • Date: Friday July 21st, 1:45 pm to 5:00 pm

5. BIXI: Montréal's bikeshare network (NEW!)

BIXI Montréal is a non-profit organization created in 2014 by the city of Montreal to manage its bike-sharing system. The BIXI network has more than 10,000 bikes (including 2,600 electric BIXIs) and almost 800 stations spread out across the greater Montreal area.

Digital transformation always sounds big. Should you acquire expensive tools? Or try to innovate by inventing something that doesn't yet exist? For BIXI Montréal, this meant focusing on the essentials. Creating an environment in which users feel confident in sharing their data, ensuring that the BIXI service is a digital experience from start to finish, generating this data, then centralizing and interpreting it via dynamic behavioral segmentation to gain fresh insight into business decisions.

For more information about BIXI: https://bixi.com/en/

In this visit, participants will be able to learn about BIXI, how it works and its path towards digital transformation. Participants will also see BIXI's storage and bike maintenance centre.

  • Date: Friday July 21st, 1:45 pm to 4:15 pm

6. Communauto: North America's oldest carsharing service (NEW!)

Accompanied by Marco Viviani, vice-president of strategic development, visit the offices and garage of Communauto, North America's oldest and Canada's largest carsharing service. Communauto has now around 3,000 vehicles in Montreal. This visit will present the history of Communauto and its mission, followed by a brief demonstration of how it works and the various aspects of the logistical complexity.

For more information about Communauto: https://montreal.communauto.com/?lang=en

  • Date: Friday July 21st, 2:05 pm to 4:45 pm