Grease, not the morning dew, caused REM train delays during the morning commute

On Wednesday, June 3, 2026, grease caused delays on the REM line, and not the morning dew as was posted on social media. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Grease, and not the morning dew, was the cause of the REM light rail line delays in service on Wednesday morning during rush hour.

At 7:21 a.m., Pulsar, the company that is in charge of running the REM, said on X that the dew was “heavier in some areas.”

“This disrupted the positioning of certain trains, which were unable to start normally,” the company said.

However, spokesperson Jean Nicolas Aubé clarified that the delay was caused by grease that crews apply to the rails.

“It’s a process that is done regularly by our maintenance team, but this morning it generated this situation,” he said.

Service was never stopped and returned to normal within an hour. Aubé said that there is no fear that the grease application will cause delays in the future, and it was a “very specific” situation.

“We’re sorry about what happened this morning about the miscommunication,” he said.