14 December 2005
University of Montreal
and Canadian Pacific Railway Reach Agreement on Acquisition of Outremont Rail Yard
for Health and Knowledge Complex
The University de Montreal and
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) announced today that they have signed an agreement that will allow
the University to acquire CPR's property known as the Outremont rail yard. The terms of the agreement
respect all of the project's parameters made public 24 Nov 2004 by the University's
Rector, Robert Lacroix.
For the first time since 1892, the CPR property will change vocation and will be used by the Montreal
community for a common public use. At approximately 2.4 million square feet (224,000 square meters),
the property is defined by the Rockland Avenue overpass to the west, CPR's tracks to the north and
south and Durocher Street to the east.
The Outremont Yard is an ideal location for the integration of the CHUM and the University on the
same site. In close proximity to the University de Montreal's campus, the site will allow the
cohabitation of the University's hospital complex, its research facilities and the faculty of Health
Sciences. The site is located in the heart of the metropolitan area where the CHUM's primary
clientele is located.
Rail activities currently taking place at the Outremont yard, primarily those of
Quebec-Gatineau Railway, will have to be relocated to a similar site in Montreal.
However, CPR will continue to operate, for the Agence Metropolitaine de transport, the commuter
service between Blainville and Montreal as it currently exists and will continue to provide service
to the Port of Montreal. CPR intends to reorganize some its Montreal facilities to optimize its
operations in the greater metropolitan area and to ensure the continuity of its operations during
the transition period, expected to start over the next few months.
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