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Windsor Station (Montreal)
Encyclopedia
Windsor Station is a former train station in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
, formerly serving as the city's Canadian Pacific Railway
Station.
Windsor Station was the Canadian Pacific Railway
's (CPR) headquarters built between 1887 and 1889. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by New York architect Bruce Price
. It was constructed at a cost of $2,000,000 CAD and the first trains departed February 4, 1889. In 1916, Windsor Station was enlarged upwards with its main tower rising to 15 stories, dramatically altering Montreal's skyline. Windsor Station formed an integral component of Dorchester Square
as a diffuser of passenger traffic and as a central terminus for other modes of transportation. It continues to dominate the Southwest corner of Place-du-Canada.
Via Rail
was created in 1978 and took over the responsibility for operating intercity passenger trains of both CN and CPR. During Via's first months there was no operational change for CPR or CN trains, as they used their respective crews, routes, equipment and stations. However, by the summer of 1979, the integration process began, and most of Via's former CP trains that used Windsor Station were consolidated at CN's Central Station, including CP's former transcontinental passenger services such as The Atlantic Limited and The Canadian
, both of which were also renamed to be bilingually appropriate. Via Dayliners (Budd Rail Diesel Car
s) operating between Windsor Station and Sainte-Foy (near Quebec City) via the CP route north of the St. Lawrence River continued to use Windsor Station until 1984. Amtrak's daily Montreal-New York City train (The Adirondack
) continued to use Windsor Station until 1986. Both the dayliners and The Adirondack were switched to Central Station. Local services to Ottawa via Montebello
and to Mont-Laurier
, both of which had been transferred from CPR to Via, continued to use Windsor Station until they were cancelled in 1981.
After intercity passenger service was removed, Windsor Station continued to be a commuter rail
terminal for the STCUM's
(now the AMT's
) Dorion/Rigaud suburban train line.
In 1993, construction began on the Molson Centre, a hockey arena to replace the Montreal Forum
. The arena site was located immediately west of Windsor Station on the trackage which served the station platforms, resulting in the historic station being severed from the rail network. Molson Centre (now Bell Centre
) opened its doors on March 16, 1996, and the new Lucien-L'Allier Station
was opened at the western end of the arena structure to replace the now-closed suburban train terminal at Windsor Station. Until 2001, the new train station was called Terminus Windsor, but this was changed to reduce confusion with the original station building and to indicate a link to the Lucien-L'Allier metro (subway) station
which is below the station building. It is still possible to walk through the Bell Centre to connect with Windsor Station and the Lucien L'Allier metro station.
Windsor Station, and now Lucien-L'Allier Station (known officially in French as 'Terminus Lucien-L'Allier'), are at the eastern end of CPR's Westmount Subdivision. It served as CP's downtown west end train terminus. Its counterpart downtown east end terminus was Place Viger
.
Windsor Station also housed the headquarters of CPR and its parent company Canadian Pacific Limited
until a corporate restructuring in the mid-1990s saw the railway abandon or sell most of its trackage east of Montreal and focus its activities in Western Canada
. In 1996, CP moved its headquarters to Gulf Canada Square in Calgary
.
Today the structure no longer is connected to the rail network. However, CPR still uses part of the building for some of its operations, such as CPR police offices, the rail traffic control for Quebec and southern Ontario, as well as the offices of one of its vice presidents, the corporate real estate division, and the corporate archives. Also located in the station is the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration. The railway still owns the building, but announced it was for sale on August 1, 2007.
The rest of Windsor Station been redeveloped into an office and hotel complex as well as restaurants. The interior concourse, which is open to the public and connects the metro station with the commuter rail station as well as the Bell Centre, is famous for hosting an annual beer festival. The 13 terminal tracks running into Windsor Station have been removed along with the overhead canopy and now comprise a public square.
Windsor Station was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1975, and was also designated a Heritage Railway Station in 1990, and a provincial historic monument in 2009.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, formerly serving as the city's Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
Station.
Windsor Station was the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
's (CPR) headquarters built between 1887 and 1889. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by New York architect Bruce Price
Bruce Price
Bruce Price was the American architect of many of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Château-type stations and hotels...
. It was constructed at a cost of $2,000,000 CAD and the first trains departed February 4, 1889. In 1916, Windsor Station was enlarged upwards with its main tower rising to 15 stories, dramatically altering Montreal's skyline. Windsor Station formed an integral component of Dorchester Square
Dorchester Square
Dorchester Square is a large urban square in downtown Montreal. Together with Place du Canada, the area is just over 21,000 m2 or 2.1 ha of manicured and protected urban parkland bordered by René Lévesque Boulevard to the south, Peel Street to the west, Metcalfe to the east and Dominion Square to...
as a diffuser of passenger traffic and as a central terminus for other modes of transportation. It continues to dominate the Southwest corner of Place-du-Canada.
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
was created in 1978 and took over the responsibility for operating intercity passenger trains of both CN and CPR. During Via's first months there was no operational change for CPR or CN trains, as they used their respective crews, routes, equipment and stations. However, by the summer of 1979, the integration process began, and most of Via's former CP trains that used Windsor Station were consolidated at CN's Central Station, including CP's former transcontinental passenger services such as The Atlantic Limited and The Canadian
The Canadian
The Canadian is a Canadian transcontinental passenger train originally operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1955 and 1978. It is currently operated as an Inter-city rail service by Via Rail Canada with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario and Pacific Central Station in...
, both of which were also renamed to be bilingually appropriate. Via Dayliners (Budd Rail Diesel Car
Budd Rail Diesel Car
The Budd Rail Diesel Car, RDC or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit railcar. In the period 1949–62, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States...
s) operating between Windsor Station and Sainte-Foy (near Quebec City) via the CP route north of the St. Lawrence River continued to use Windsor Station until 1984. Amtrak's daily Montreal-New York City train (The Adirondack
Adirondack (Amtrak)
The Adirondack is a passenger train operated daily by Amtrak between New York City and Montreal. The trip takes approximately 11 hours to cover a published distance of , traveling through the scenic Hudson Valley and the Adirondack Mountains...
) continued to use Windsor Station until 1986. Both the dayliners and The Adirondack were switched to Central Station. Local services to Ottawa via Montebello
Montebello, Quebec
Montebello is a municipality located in the Papineau Regional County Municipality of Western Quebec . As of the 2001 census, there were 1,039 permanent residents. The village has a total area of , and is located at the eastern edge of Canada's National Capital Region.The village is world famous for...
and to Mont-Laurier
Mont-Laurier, Quebec
Mont-Laurier is a town and incorporated municipality in northwest Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Rivière du Lièvre, a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the “Capital of the Haute-Laurentides”, the motto of the town is Laurus elationis praemium, which translates to “Lift the...
, both of which had been transferred from CPR to Via, continued to use Windsor Station until they were cancelled in 1981.
Commuter rail in North America
Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, and Mexico provide common carrier passenger transportation along railway tracks, with scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis primarily for short-distance travel between a central business district and adjacent suburbs and...
terminal for the STCUM's
Société de transport de Montréal
The Société de transport de Montréal is a public transport agency that operates transit bus, and rapid transit services in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
(now the AMT's
Agence métropolitaine de transport
The Agence métropolitaine de transport is the umbrella organization that plans, integrates, and coordinates public transportation services across Canada's Greater Montreal Region, including the Island of Montreal, Laval , and communities along both the North Shore of the Rivière des Mille-Îles...
) Dorion/Rigaud suburban train line.
In 1993, construction began on the Molson Centre, a hockey arena to replace the Montreal Forum
Montreal Forum
The Montreal Forum was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by Sporting News, it was home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Maroons from 1924 to 1938 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1926 to 1996...
. The arena site was located immediately west of Windsor Station on the trackage which served the station platforms, resulting in the historic station being severed from the rail network. Molson Centre (now Bell Centre
Bell Centre
The Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction...
) opened its doors on March 16, 1996, and the new Lucien-L'Allier Station
Lucien-L'Allier (AMT)
Lucien-L'Allier is the commuter rail terminal for the AMT Vaudreuil-Hudson, Blainville-Saint-Jerome, and Candiac lines in the Greater Montreal area in Quebec, Canada. Lucien-L'Allier is in Fare Zone 1. It is one of the two downtown terminals for Montreal commuter trains, the other being Gare...
was opened at the western end of the arena structure to replace the now-closed suburban train terminal at Windsor Station. Until 2001, the new train station was called Terminus Windsor, but this was changed to reduce confusion with the original station building and to indicate a link to the Lucien-L'Allier metro (subway) station
Lucien-L'Allier (Montreal Metro)
Lucien-L'Allier is a station on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system, operated by Société de transport de Montréal . It is located in the borough of Ville-Marie in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Overview:...
which is below the station building. It is still possible to walk through the Bell Centre to connect with Windsor Station and the Lucien L'Allier metro station.
Windsor Station, and now Lucien-L'Allier Station (known officially in French as 'Terminus Lucien-L'Allier'), are at the eastern end of CPR's Westmount Subdivision. It served as CP's downtown west end train terminus. Its counterpart downtown east end terminus was Place Viger
Place Viger
Place Viger was both a grand hotel and railway station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, constructed in 1898 and named after Jacques Viger, Montreal's first mayor...
.
Windsor Station also housed the headquarters of CPR and its parent company Canadian Pacific Limited
Canadian Pacific Limited
Canadian Pacific Limited was created in 1971 to own properties formerly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, a transportation and mining giant in Canada...
until a corporate restructuring in the mid-1990s saw the railway abandon or sell most of its trackage east of Montreal and focus its activities in Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
. In 1996, CP moved its headquarters to Gulf Canada Square in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
.
Today the structure no longer is connected to the rail network. However, CPR still uses part of the building for some of its operations, such as CPR police offices, the rail traffic control for Quebec and southern Ontario, as well as the offices of one of its vice presidents, the corporate real estate division, and the corporate archives. Also located in the station is the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration. The railway still owns the building, but announced it was for sale on August 1, 2007.
The rest of Windsor Station been redeveloped into an office and hotel complex as well as restaurants. The interior concourse, which is open to the public and connects the metro station with the commuter rail station as well as the Bell Centre, is famous for hosting an annual beer festival. The 13 terminal tracks running into Windsor Station have been removed along with the overhead canopy and now comprise a public square.
Windsor Station was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1975, and was also designated a Heritage Railway Station in 1990, and a provincial historic monument in 2009.