BlaakLane.com books Montreal Central Station car service at a fixed fare you see before confirming. Enter your VIA Rail or Amtrak train; the chauffeur follows it, meets you curbside on rue De La Gauchetière or at another legal stop confirmed by text, and drives you to downtown hotels, Old Montreal, Trudeau Airport, Quebec City or Mont-Tremblant.
Booking a car from Gare Centrale
Pick Montreal Central Station (Gare Centrale) in the reservation engine, add the train and date, your destination and a vehicle class. The price on the screen is fixed, with no meter running while you sit at a red light on René-Lévesque. Your confirmation arrives in English; chauffeurs in Montreal are generally comfortable in both French and English.
Montreal trips are assigned by the 24/7 reservations and dispatch desk in Toronto to a vetted local affiliate from the LimousineWorldwide.Directory network, contracted to the BlaakLane.com written standard. The confirmation lists the operator, the chauffeur and the vehicle.
Who runs trains at Central Station
- VIA Rail: the Corridor to Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec City, the Ocean to Halifax, and regional trains to Jonquière and Senneterre. See VIA Rail.
- Amtrak: the Adirondack to Albany and New York, with United States border formalities handled along the route. See Amtrak.
- exo: commuter trains, including the Mont-Saint-Hilaire line, run by exo.
- REM: the automated light metro runs from Gare Centrale across the Samuel De Champlain Bridge to Brossard, with more branches opening in stages. Its airport branch is still being built. Details on REM.
- STM Metro: Bonaventure station on the Orange Line, reached underground, plus McGill and Peel on the Green Line a short walk away.
How the station connects to the street
Gare Centrale sits below street level in the heart of downtown, beneath the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel and next to Place Ville Marie. The main hall has exits to rue De La Gauchetière Ouest, rue Mansfield, and up through the hotel to boulevard René-Lévesque, and it links to the underground pedestrian network (RÉSO) toward Place Bonaventure, Bonaventure Metro and the office towers.
The taxi stand is on the De La Gauchetière side. Private cars use a legal stop on rue De La Gauchetière or rue Mansfield, or the hotel side on René-Lévesque when traffic allows. Montreal enforces stopping rules firmly, and in winter snow-clearing signs can suspend curb parking overnight, so the chauffeur picks the spot on the day and texts it to you.
Meeting your chauffeur
The standard service is a curbside pickup at the confirmed stopping point; the chauffeur stays with the car. If you would like to be met in the main hall with a name board, add meet and greet at booking. Add-ons are only available in selected locations, so the booking engine shows whether a hall meet is possible for your arrival.
Train tracking at Gare Centrale
Arrivals from Toronto and Ottawa usually run close to schedule, while the Adirondack from New York can lose time at the border. Either way the chauffeur is timed to the real arrival. Waiting of 15 minutes is included from the moment the train is in; beyond that, it is charged in 15-minute blocks shown in your booking.
Luggage and the long walks underground
Some exits involve escalators and a walk through the underground city. With large cases, the De La Gauchetière exit is usually the simplest route to the car. A sedan holds two bags and an SUV six; ski bags headed for Tremblant need an SUV, noted in the booking.
Drive times to YUL and around downtown
| Destination | Distance | Typical drive |
|---|---|---|
| Montreal-Trudeau Airport (YUL) | about 20 km | 25-45 minutes via Autoroute 20 |
| Old Montreal and the Old Port | about 1.5 km | 5-15 minutes |
| Golden Square Mile and Sherbrooke Street hotels | about 1.5 km | 5-15 minutes |
| Palais des congrès | about 1.5 km | 5-10 minutes |
| Bell Centre | under 1 km | 5 minutes |
| Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Île Notre-Dame | about 6 km | 15-30 minutes, longer on race weekend |
For terminal pickups and US preclearance timing see Montreal-Trudeau, and for private flights the Trudeau FBO page.
Road trips from Montreal
| Route | Distance | Typical drive |
|---|---|---|
| Mont-Tremblant | about 130 km | 1 h 30 - 2 h |
| Ottawa | about 200 km | 2 - 2 h 30 |
| Quebec City | about 250 km | 2 h 45 - 3 h 15 |
| Toronto | about 540 km | 5 h 30 - 6 h |
Book these as intercity transfers. See Mont-Tremblant, Ottawa and Quebec City. Cross-border drives to Burlington or New York are possible; bring passports and allow time at the crossing.
Local driving facts
On the island of Montreal, right turns on a red light are not allowed, unlike most of North America. Quebec requires winter tyres on passenger vehicles from 1 December to 15 March. Summer brings construction detours on the main autoroutes, and the Grand Prix in June and the jazz festival in summer close streets downtown. Tourisme Montréal lists the calendar.
Which vehicle class to book
- Standard Sedan and Luxury Executive Sedan: two travellers and two bags for a downtown meeting or YUL.
- Executive First Class Sedan (Maybach): a principal arriving from Toronto.
- Standard Black SUV and Executive Black SUV: six and six; the winter choice and the right car for Tremblant with skis.
- Sprinter Van: 12 passengers for a conference group heading to the Palais des congrès.
- Sprinter Luxury Jet Van: seven with carry-ons, for a working drive to Ottawa or Quebec City.
- Luxury Stretch Limo and Party Bus: eight and 14 passengers, for weddings and a night in the Old Port.
The fleet page shows each class; rates explains what the fare includes.
Accounts and cancellation
Firms can use corporate accounts for monthly invoicing, and the travel desk can combine rail, hotel and car bookings. Cancelling more than 72 hours out costs nothing; within 72 hours it is 10 %, within 48 hours 50 %, within 24 hours or on a no-show 100 %. More on the city: chauffeur service in Montreal.
