1161 Hollis Street

This rail station exterior, in its Beaux-Arts style, was built with long-lasting, sober, classic, simple gray material that is still chic almost 100 years later and its interior has a hint of historic vintage rural vibe. The contrasting dark ceiling arched beams, the guichet windows, the waiting room and the light fixtures are lovely.  The place is nicely lighted and clean.

The 1928-30 building is connected to the hotel next door which was typical during this time. A few grand stations offered that combo to ease passenger’s transit organization. While the station is modest in size, it offers these commodities.  

You can reach downtown Halifax on foot from this location. A 5-minute walk will get you to the waterfront harbourwalk, the Canadian Museum of Immigration, Science Museum and more.

The Halifax train station is the last stop when traveling to the east coast of Canada.

Already in 1835, Joseph Howe foresaw great potential in the railway transportation. Years later, connection to Montreal was expected to help the economy with new ways to carry merchandise to new markets.

The first train connected Halifax and Truro in 1858. The connection to the Quebec Province would only occur after the officialization of the Confederation Act in 1867.  It reached St-John, New Brunswick in 1872 and Montreal in 1876. At the time, it was taking 36 hours to reach the final destination. Today, it is about 22 hours by train (Via Rail – Ocean – Train 14) (Montreal Central Station) and if you choose to travel by car, it is about 14 hours between the two cities.

The original train station was not at this location and that building no longer exists on North Street.