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Panama

Panama Station is located in the median of Autoroute 10 south of Mall Champlain. This station acts as an important multi-modal hub for passengers traveling on RTL buses heading for downtown Montreal.

Before construction started for the station in Fall 2019, the site was already a bus station opened in 1985, initially located closed to Mall Champlain. It was brought closer to the site of the REM station to facilitate transfers. In 2006, a busway was built in the median of Autoroute 10, with an underpass on the North side of the highway, allowing buses a direct connection with the Autoroute. This site was then built into Panama Station, with a new bus loop located closer to the station.

UNIQUE FEATURES

Due to its particuliar location in an existing busway, the station only has one entrance which is accessed through the Autoroute 10 underpasses. As such, passenges go up to platform level using either the stairs or central elevator.
The former section where buses traveled is located ot the North (under the westbound lanes, towards the bus terminal). A second tunnel was built under the eastbound lanes for pedestrian connections to the neighborhood and shopping plaza.
The new bus loop includes 30 platforms (seperated in 3 banks) with connections to EXO and RTL routes. The new facility includes bathrooms, a covered walkway to the REM station and a ticketing office. The bus loop opened on July 11, 2022.
To improve connectivity to the station, 200 bike racks are available at the station. 100 of those spots are covered.
There is also 304 parking spots (227 are free, the remainder are paid) which includes 4 EV charging stations, 6 accesible spots and 8 for carpooling to incentivize transit usage, as well as a kiss and ride for passenger drop-off. Passengers can acquire a monthly or daily pass for the paid spots.
A commercial space is also available in the bus loop, though it is not currently occupied (as of August 6, 2023)

PUBLIC ARTWORK

Un voyage sans fin au-delà du présent is an art instalation by artist Chih-Chien Wang which will be installed in the underpass of the station. Once installed, the 8 photographs will be a structure 13.8m long by 4m high using metal lighbox to illuminate the images. The installation is expected ot be done by the end of 2023.

From the REM website:

Chih-Chien Wang is very familiar with the neighbourhood around the Panama station. He visits it regularly and views it as a journey through the various dialects, cultures and culinary specialities. It is like a physical and metaphorical portal allowing him to navigate time and the seasons. To pay homage to his roots and this site that is so particular, Wang dove into his own aerial photographs taken when he was travelling by plane from Montréal to other countries. To these, he has interspersed photographs shot in his Montréal studio of dust particles caught up in the wind. The spectator travels therefore from the micro to the macro, from the infinitely small to the infinitely vast. From the personal to the universal.

STATION FACTS AND MAP