Montreal’s Light Rail Megaproject Boondoggle a High-Risk Gamble for Public Pension System

Workers are shown beneath a section of the Réseau express métropolitain, a new automated light rail network under construction in Montreal, on Feb. 2, 2022. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes

Commentary

With all the terrible things happening in the world right now, it might seem beside the point to discuss urban light rail. But public policy, like golf, is never so bad it can’t get worse. And a tiny throwaway line in a story out of Montreal, a cloud no bigger than a man’s hand, portends a terrible deluge if we do not act fast.