Transportation in Montreal

The Montreal Metro is the fastest way to get around the city. All local and most suburban railroad services connect downtown at Central Station, where VIA Rail connects Montreal with Toronto, the city of Quebec, and other cities in Canada. The Amtrak Adirondack connects Montreal Central Station with New York City daily. Some suburban railroad service departs from Lucien-L'Allier Station and from Parc station. Suburban train routes ending at Parc station are timed to connect with shuttle buses going to downtown Montreal.

Societe de transport de Montreal operates the bus and subway system, while Agence Metropolitaine de Transport operates the commuter rail services. All these services span across the island and across bridges to the surrounding communities. The Jacques Cartier Bridge is one of several that span the St. Lawrence River.

The local bus service has 20 night routes and 165 routes in the daytime, with some buses that can carry wheelchair-bound travelers. The Montreal Metro subway has four lines that stop at 68 stations. Each Metro station is designed by a different architect with unique themes and display original artwork. With rubber tires, the Montreal subway is unusually quiet, and has been extended to the southern city of Laval.

Since Montreal is on an island, the street grid does not correspond to a geographic north and south but more closely follow the contour of the island. The Saint Lawrence Boulevard divides the city into the west and east side, thus streets crossing the boulevard have an east or west after their name depending on what side they are on.

Montreal has an extensive network of bicycle trails, and bicycle rental outlets are available, making for an inexpensive way to get around.