Bonaventure station

Designed by Victor Prus, the station is a normal side platform station, built by cut-and-cover in order to provide a large space for the heavily trafficked mezzanine. As a key part of the underground city, the mezzanine has ticket barriers on either side to allow pedestrians to pass from one end of the station to the other side. Footbridges over the tracks below the mezzanine level allow passengers to cross from one platform to the other. Until 1992, the station had only one outdoor entrance, in front of Windsor Station, and two additional accesses led directly to Place Bonaventure and Montreal Central Station (Gare Centrale) on one end and to the Château Champlain and Place du Canada on the other. When 1000 de La Gauchetière was built almost directly above the station, additional accesses were added to the office tower and to the Downtown Terminus (metropolitan bus terminal for Réseau de transport de Longueuil and South Shore buses) within it, as well as a street entrance on the western side of the building on Cathédrale Street and improved access to Central Station and Place Bonaventure. The station is intermodal with the Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM)'s commuter train lines through its underground access to Montreal Central Station, the terminus for Mascouche and Mont-Saint-Hilaire lines. Eventually, it connected to the Réseau express métropolitain network as well. There is also underground access to the Lucien-L'Allier train station and to the Lucien-L'Allier Metro station. Elevators were added between the mezzanine and the platforms in November 2009, which mader the station more accessible to people with reduced mobility. However, no step-free access to the surface was possible until 2019, when elevators were added connecting the mezzanine level to Terminus Centre-Ville and to the lobby of 1000 De La Gauchetière. This was criticised in the media. The elevators do not allow passengers to change platforms unless they exit the ticket barriers. Another elevator connecting the station to Place du Canada and the Château Champlain was once the only elevator in the system; it is separated from the mezzanine level by steps. The station is equipped with the MétroVision information screens, which display news, commercials, and the time until the next train. ==Origin of the name==

This station is named after Place Bonaventure, a major commercial complex containing businesses, the Hôtel Bonaventure (formerly a Hilton Hotel), and the Société de transport de Montréal's headquarters. This was named after Bonaventure Station, a former station on the Grand Trunk Railway, which in turn was named for its location on Saint Bonaventure Street, now Saint Jacques Street. All derive their name from St. Bonaventure, a 13th-century Italian philosopher and mystic. ==Connecting bus routes==

All STM bus routes are located on nearby street stops, while other operators use the Terminus Centre-ville which is connected to the Metro station via underground link. } • • • • }} • • • • • }} • • • • • • • • }} • • }} • • • • }} • • Sherbrooke East Park and Ride • • }} • }} • • • • • • • }} • • • • }} • Gare d'autocars de Montréal • • • • }} Some runs start or end at Lionel-Groulx Metro Station • }} ==Nearby points of interest==

Connected via the underground city • Terminus Centre-Ville • 1000 de La Gauchetière • Place Ville Marie • Place Bonaventure • Place du Canada - Hôtel Château Champlain • Central Station - Via Rail, Amtrak and AMT • Canadian National Railway headquarters • Queen Elizabeth Hotel • STM headquarters (in Place Bonaventure) • Le 1250 René-Lévesque Ouest • Édifice Gare Windsor - former Canadian Pacific Railway headquarters • Bell Centre • Lucien-L'Allier train station and Lucien-L'Allier Metro station and points west • Square-Victoria-OACI Metro station and points east • McGill Metro station and points north Other • Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral • The Dow Planetarium, now closed for relocation • Sun Life Building • Centre Sheraton • Tour CIBC • Place du Canada • Dorchester Square == See also ==