---
title: "Old Montreal Subway Cars Become Art"
description: "Canadian artists and architects are upcycling the cars to create art installations and buildings."
date: "2017-12-01"
modified: "2017-12-04"
authors:
  - name: "Hayley Lind"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/hayley-lind"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/16615/old-montreal-subway-cars-become-art"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Art"
  - "Canada"
  - "cars"
  - "Montreal"
  - "subway"
---

# Old Montreal Subway Cars Become Art

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/12/montrealmetro.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

In the U.K., England’s 1970s subways [were refurbished](<https://qz.com/552271/londons-old-subway-cars-are-being-transformed-into-trains-for-the-north-of-england/>) into new trains. The U.S. recently [recycled old New York City subway cars](<https://mentalfloss.com/article/71650/what-ever-happened-all-those-subway-cars-we-dumped-atlantic>) into marine habitats. Now, Canada's used subway cars are becoming art installations and buildings.

[Montreal’s](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/6345/watching-this-snowy-slow-motion-accident-in-montreal-is-oddly-soothing>) metro system, the Societe de Transport de Montreal, just hit its 50th anniversary and decided to sell its MR-63 cars last year. The MR-63 is a sky-blue car with a white stripe that was designed by Jacques Guillon in 1963. Three hundred sixty-nine MR-63s were [produced](<https://www.stm.info/en/about/major_projects/sustainable-reclamation-plan-mr-63-cars>).

The city wanted to [recycle](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/9748/roads-made-of-recycled-plastic-are-being-tested-in-britain>) these cars and opened a public contest last year. Anyone could submit creative proposals for a project that will utilize the cars and honor the [metro](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/16108/arrivo-wants-to-bring-hyperloop-like-transit-system-to-denver-in-2021>)’s history.

“We thought it would be a good idea to offer the public the opportunity to give us some ideas of what we can do with those cars,” [said](<https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/want-your-own-montreal-subway-car-you-can-buy-one-from-the-city-for-1000>) Philippe Schnobb, chairman of the STM.

Out of 30 submissions, seven restoration ideas were chosen. Projects include a garden display, a building, a car-turned café, and a sculpture.

[Le BOCAL](<https://www.refordgardens.com/english/news-204-exhibitions-2017.php>), a creative lab in Quebec City, will construct a train-inspired landscape exhibit at Reford Gardens in Grand-Métis, Quebec.

Frédéric Morin-Bordeleau will create a building out of eight cars. The structure will feature a gallery, café, bar, and a community space. This project is set to be finished in 2020.

Polytechnical research and design lab, FAB LAB, will renovate a car and turn it into an internet café.

Michel de Broin will make a sculpture by fusing 16 subway doors together. It will be called “Suils,” which is French for “threshold,” and will play with traditional subway-door mechanics.

The MR-63s not used in the project will be [recycled](<https://www.citymetric.com/transport/artists-and-architects-montreal-are-upcycling-old-subway-cars-3510>)—one car per day—by American Iron and Metal.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/HaylToTheLind>)