‘Completely ridiculous’: REM users mistakenly sent to the train wash

This photo from a passenger shows a REM train inside the train wash after it was mistakenly sent there with passengers on board on Friday, May 15, 2026. (Facebook)

There are wrong turns. And then there are wrong turns.

Some light-rail users in Montreal were mistakenly taken to the train wash in Deux-Montagnes after boarding the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) on Friday morning.

A passenger on the driverless train wrote in a Facebook post that after she boarded shortly after 8:30 a.m. heading toward Montreal’s South Shore, the train went in the wrong direction and ended up at the garage. Once inside, she and other passengers were taken to a facility that scrubs the vehicles to get them squeaky clean but was not impressed with the behind-the-scenes tour.

“Once we arrived at the car wash, about five employees were waving at us, laughing, and filming us instead of helping or offering an explanation. Seriously, what a lack of professionalism,” she wrote in the post.

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Instead of sending the train back on the right course immediately, the train continued to be washed while the passengers were on board, she said.

“After wasting about 30 minutes, we were finally told to get off the train and take another one because it was supposedly defective… except that after we got off, the train left in the right direction,” she added, calling the ordeal “completely ridiculous.”

‘We sincerely apologize’

Pulsar, the company that operates the REM network, confirmed the incident in an email to CTV News.

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience experienced by these passengers. This is an exceptional situation,” wrote spokesperson Maxime Laliberté.

He said the train was accidentally directed to the train wash following a manual command from an operator at the control centre and that the passengers were later assisted by crews on site.

An investigation is underway to determine what caused the mix-up to prevent it from happening again, “as well as to address allegations regarding employee conduct,” according to Laliberté.

Since it first opened in 2023, the REM has experienced a number of breakdowns and mishaps that officials are working to correct.

The train wash incident comes days before a major new section is set to open to the public. Four new stations toward Montreal’s West Island will officially be open as of Monday, adding 14 kilometres of new track to the light-rail line.

Users can try out the new Anse-à-l’Orme branch for free this weekend during select hours ahead of the launch.