But remember that the major component of this project is essentially the righting of a wrong -- that is, transitizing a commuter rail line that should have been rapid transit from the start. Those looking at a map of the Montreal Metro notice that there is no #3 Line, and no Red Line, which this was supposed to be originally.
So looking at this from the outside, is it really a "new" project, a replacement, or building of what should have been built many years ago? Unfortunately, in modern dollars, while light rail is more affordable, but keeping the same technology in heavy rail Metro might have been a better choice to minimize forced transfers.