Toronto to Montreal by Train, Car or Plane: Door-to-Door Times Compared

How long does the Toronto to Montreal train take, and is it the best way?

The two cities sit at either end of the busiest corridor in Canada, and every mode competes there. Each has a flattering headline number. The train is "five hours, no driving". The flight is "about an hour". The drive is "straight down the 401". None of those numbers is a door-to-door time, and the differences between them shrink or grow depending on what you carry, who you travel with and where in each city you start and finish.

This guide takes the trip one mode at a time, adds the parts that the headlines leave out, and then names the kinds of trips where a private car is the better call. The train is the right answer more often than the cost of a car might suggest.

The train: 538 km on VIA Rail

VIA Rail's page for the route shows Toronto to Montréal at an average duration of 5 h 13, a distance of 538 km and 40 departures a week (VIA Rail: Toronto to Montréal). For the day it was checked, VIA's sample listing included Train 66 (15:23 to 20:25), Train 68 (17:08 to 22:14) and Train 668 (18:08 to 23:04). Durations on those samples ranged from 4 h 56 to 5 h 6.

Two things are worth knowing before you buy. First, the sample trains are afternoon departures, so a morning arrival in Montreal needs an earlier train, and the number of weekly departures means the choice is not unlimited. Second, VIA's corridor schedule change takes effect on 25 October 2026. Among other changes, Saturday trains 68 and 69 are replaced by new departures numbered 668 and 669, and the company will no longer stop at Guildwood or Malton. Passengers with existing bookings are contacted and can rebook or take a full refund (VIA Rail: schedule adjustments). If you booked before the announcement, check your train number.

The Toronto end is Union Station; our Union Station rail transfers page covers pick-ups at the station. The Montreal end is Central Station at 895 de la Gauchetière West, under the Queen Elizabeth Hotel and close to the Bonaventure and McGill metro stations. The station is open Monday to Saturday from 5:30 am to 11:00 pm and Sunday from 7:30 am to 11:00 pm, and VIA warns there are no baggage carts (VIA Rail: Montréal station).

The drive: Highway 401 east and Autoroute 20

The road trip is about 550 km (340 mi). You take the 401 east through Kingston and Cornwall to the Quebec line, where it carries on as Autoroute 20 into Montreal. Our routing check gives roughly 6 h 30 without traffic between the two downtown stations, so allow 7 hours with a fuel and coffee stop, and more on a Friday afternoon or a long weekend.

The first 100 km out of Toronto set the day. A 5:30 am start clears Durham Region before the commuter build-up. A 9 am start can lose an hour east of Toronto. On the Quebec side, the final approach to the island of Montreal slows at the rush hours, and roadworks on the island approaches can add to it.

The driving case is strongest when you are going beyond the city. Montreal itself is a poor place to keep a car: parking is costly, the downtown streets are tight, and a hotel garage is often the only option. If the trip is to the Laurentians, the Eastern Townships or an address on the South Shore, the car has an obvious place.

Flying: about an hour in the air, four to five hours on the clock

Scheduled flights between Toronto and Montreal are short, and we use about 75 minutes of block time as a planning allowance; check your airline's published schedule for the exact figure. The door-to-door arithmetic is less kind.

1. Toronto to the airport: 30 to 60 minutes to Pearson, or 15 to 25 minutes to Billy Bishop for a downtown start.
2. Arrival allowance: 60 to 90 minutes before a domestic departure at Pearson.
3. Flight: about 75 minutes (our allowance).
4. Deplane and bags at Trudeau: 20 to 40 minutes.
5. Trudeau to downtown: the airport is about 20 km (12 mi) from the city centre, roughly 25 minutes by car without traffic (allow 25 to 45), or 45 to 70 minutes on the 747 Centre-ville bus.

That is four to five hours, which is close to the train and a little under the car. Flying wins when the day starts at an airport, when you are connecting onward, or when the Toronto leg is Billy Bishop with a carry-on. It loses when it is a two-hop trip with checked luggage and no tight schedule.

For the Montreal airport end, see the Montréal-Trudeau transfer page. The airport bus is covered in our 747 bus versus taxi guide; the Société de transport de Montréal lists a fare of $11.25 per person on the 747 as of 2026, which includes a 24-hour pass for the bus, métro, exo trains and the REM in Zone A, payable in cash on board with exact change, through the Chrono app or at the arrivals machines (STM: 747 page).

Mode comparison: Toronto to Montreal

Times are door to door between a downtown Toronto address and a downtown Montreal address. Where VIA publishes a figure, it is used; the rest are planning allowances.

What each mode does badly

Every mode has a weak point, and knowing it is better than being surprised by it.

The train's weak point is the timetable. There are 40 departures a week across the corridor, which sounds like a lot until you want a 7 am arrival and find only one train near it. A delay on the line can add time, and a missed train means rebooking or waiting for the next one.

The car's weak point is the destination. Parking at a Montreal hotel is rarely included, and downtown driving is unforgiving for visitors. A chauffeured car removes both problems, because the driver deals with the streets and the drop-off.

The plane's weak point is the extras. Security, boarding, and baggage claim consume time that the headline hides, and a delayed inbound aircraft can wipe out any saving.

Groups, gear and the Laurentians

The balance tips toward the road the moment the trip becomes anything other than one person and one bag. This is the part the fare comparison tends to miss.

Two to six travellers. Train fares are per person, and a car is a vehicle. Four people on VIA is four tickets, four seats, four sets of bags to carry through Union and Central. In a car, one pick-up at the door, one drop-off at the door, and the luggage sits where you can see it.

Ski and snowboard gear. Skis, boards and boot bags are awkward on the train and awkward in a taxi. They are no trouble in a large SUV. From Montreal, the Laurentian resorts are an hour or two further north, and a single vehicle for the whole Toronto-to-resort run avoids a transfer in the middle of the city with all the equipment.

Onward travel from Montreal. If you are headed to Mont-Tremblant, Mont-Sainte-Anne, the Eastern Townships or Quebec City, the train gets you to Central Station and then leaves you to arrange the rest. A single car for the whole journey replaces three handovers.

Children. Car seats can be added at booking, which matters more with a four-year-old than a fast timetable. Our guide to car seat rules in taxis, ride-hailing and chauffeured cars explains what the law expects.

Privacy and work. Calls, negotiations and paperwork do not happen well in a shared train carriage or on a plane.

Check your fixed fare to Montreal

Timing the trip properly

Whichever mode you choose, a few practical decisions make the day go better.

1. Pick the mode by the arrival time that matters. If the first commitment is at 9 am Montreal time, the train needs an early departure and the car needs a pre-dawn start.
2. Fix the return before you book the outbound. The last train on a given day is a hard deadline. A car's return is limited only by the driver's day, so ask how long the combined duty period is.
3. Respect winter. Conditions on the 401 and the A-20 can change quickly between November and March, so leave margin for the weather rather than planning to the minute.
4. Do not plan a tight connection at Union or Central. The platforms are fine but luggage slows everything.
5. Consider an overnight. A round trip of about 1,100 km in one day is possible, but it leaves little margin.

When a private car is the better call

Pulling the strands together, here is a rule of thumb. Choose the train when you are one or two people, going from downtown to downtown, with normal luggage and a flexible schedule. Choose a flight when the trip begins or continues at an airport. Choose a private car when any of these is true: the party is three or more, the luggage includes gear, the destination lies beyond the city, children are travelling, or the timing is fixed at either end.

Ours is a door-to-door service. The booker shows the fixed fare for your exact pick-up and drop-off before you pay, your chauffeur tracks the schedule you give, and a single booking can cover the outbound and the return. The Toronto to Montreal route page sets out the details, the Canada hub lists the other intercity routes, and for a shorter day trip the Ottawa comparison uses the same method.

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