Maple Leaf questions

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William

Train Attendant
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
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Greetings all,

I am in the beginning stages of putting together a short trip to Toronto this spring, and have a few questions about the Maple Leaf. I would be taking this train from New York City at Penn Station.

This will be my first trip ever to Canada.

My first question is about the border crossing. What is the current procedure?

My second question is about the Amtrak station in Toronto. Is it located in "Union Station"?

Also, is it within walking distance to the financial district? I will be staying at a Sheraton Hotel on Queen Street, and it looks like it is less than a half a mile from Union Station, which would be an easy walk if the neighborhood around it is OK.

Any other words of advice or comments about the Maple Leaf and Toronto in general?

Thanks in advance.

Bill
 
Most importantly, remember to bring your passport with you. At Niagara Falls (Ontario), all passengers will get off the train for the border check. At Niagara Falls (NY), you remain on the train for the border check.

Yes, it does go to Union Station in Toronto. I'm not familiar with Toronto itself, but others will answer I'm sure.
 
Yes, Amtrak in Toronto is in Union Station. Remember, these days you need a passport to enter Cabada by land, or a passport card. I understand that passengers must de train for Customs at the border entering Canafa. Returning to the US, I stayed on the train but a small number if passengers were taken in the Niagara Falls, NY station for questioning. The Customs stop took nearly two hours.
 
Are you also planning on coming back on the Maple Leaf or going onward on ViaRail? The current schedule is for a 7:42PM arrival with about a half hourat the border.

When you buy the ticket online you must provide your passport # . Union station is next to the CN tower and the Blue Jay's stadium. After dark I would spring for a taxi to the hotel.

The Maple Leaf was the second Amtrak train I ever rode (in Oct. 2001)
 
The Sheraton is a reasonably easy walk from Union Station. The neighborhood is fine. You can walk all the way from Union Station to the Sheraton using the PATH, the system of underground and interconnecting shopping areas. It is great in foul weather, and is nice at all times.
 
Between the Border and Toronto the Maple Leaf is a VIA Rail Canada train......operated with VIA crews and it will use Union Station along with all other VIA and GO Trains.

Toronto is perfectly safe to walk around after dark. Here's a link to some info on Toronto I posted here on Amtrak Unlimited over at the What To See Forum:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/46363-toronto-ontario/

......and an update. Union Station is undergoing a $700 million restoration so it's a maze of construction!
 
NS VIA Fan said:
Between the Border and Toronto the Maple Leaf is a VIA Rail Canada train......operated with VIA crews and it will use Union Station along with all other VIA and GO Trains.

Toronto is perfectly safe to walk around after dark. Here's a link to some info on Toronto I posted here on Amtrak Unlimited over at the What To See Forum:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/46363-toronto-ontario/

......and an update. Union Station is undergoing a $700 million restoration so it's a maze of construction!
Click to expand...
And so are the streets around it, particularly Front St.
 
I've ridden the maple leaf and will echo others...

The area around Union Station is very safe. Toronto is an awesome city.

Entering Canada the train will stop and all passengers will get off the train with all luggage and enter the station and pass through Customs. After that you go into the station waiting room and wait to re-board the train.
 
Many thanks to everyone for your replies to my questions about the Maple Leaf.

I have a couple of last questions regarding items one can bring on the train.

Would I be allowed to bring any type of alcoholic beverage in my luggage?

I would like to bring a couple of small bottles of wine to enjoy at my hotel room.

I fully understand you can't BYOB to drink on the train, but these bottles would be stored in my suitcase.

Is luggage checked at the border crossing?

Can you bring alcohol across the border?

Thanks in advance.

William
 
You can bring alcohol in your baggage on Amtrak and (I believe) VIA. However, the problem is the border crossing. They may or may not search your bags at the border. And you can only bring a small amount across the border duty free.

If at all possible, I would purchase them at a store in each country.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have always felt completely safe walking around Toronto. It's an enjoyable city to visit. The time I rode the Maple Leaf across the border they checked passports on the train. Apparently that has changed. But they went over the train and passengers with a fine tooth comb. Taking the train is totally different from flying in or driving. They check everything and they aren't very nice about it. It's like the Canadian customs agents really don't want to be there.
 
Depending on how much luggage you have..and which side of queen st the Sheraton is on (can't remember off the top of my head) you can hop the subway for $3 and get off two stations up which only takes about 5 minutes...if you don't want to walk or its raining. Walking through the path could be a little confusing and it can be difficult with luggage as you don't always have escalators or stairs up to street level.
 
Thanks again to everyone for your replies to my questions.

I have one more question about taking the Maple Leaf into Canada, which concerns the border crossing.

I was just looking at the timetable for the Maple Leaf, and was reading the info about the border crossing.

It said this:

• Admission into either country is solely at the discretion of border
authorities, and possession of required documentation and the provision
of required information in no way guarantees entry. Neither Amtrak nor
VIA Rail Canada nor any other carrier is in any way liable if you are
denied entry or removed from the train or bus.

Do the border crossing agents ever actually deny passengers entry into Canada?

Is this something to be concerned about?



Bill
 
William said:
• Admission into either country is solely at the discretion of border

authorities, and possession of required documentation and the provision
of required information in no way guarantees entry. Neither Amtrak nor
VIA Rail Canada nor any other carrier is in any way liable if you are
denied entry or removed from the train or bus.

Do the border crossing agents ever actually deny passengers entry into Canada?
Click to expand...
No different if you are flying or driving and sure there are people turned away every day.

As a Canadian, I could be just as easily denied entry into the US at the discretion of your border authorities.
 
FWIW, the "complete discretion" claim is a slight overstatement. Canadian citizens with proper documentation have the absolute right to re-enter Canada, while US citizens with proper documentation have the absolute right to re-enter the US. This is a provision of a large number of international treaties as well as part of international customary law, and denial of this "right to return home" is considered a human rights violation.

The US has actually violated this rule a couple of times in recent years, however, in some egregious and nasty cases (which you can Google), because the US has been run by extremely lawless criminals. So all bets are off.
 
The usual catch is in establishing that proper documentation is available. It is amazing how often travelers screw up on that simple item either intentionally (forged document) or carelessly (my dog ate my passport).

And then of course there sometimes is malfeasance on part of the government too, and US is by far not the worst offender in that department either.
 
Broadly speaking, if your documents are in order, and you have no criminal convictions, you should expect to be admitted. They don't deny entry just for fun, or for no reason.

To my way of thinking, passengers crossing borders by bus or train will be seen as a little "out of the norm", so can expect more scrutiny than folks flying or driving?

I was rather surprised to find I could only buy alcohol at a goverment store, (or in a bar!), but not at a supermarket for example.

Ed :cool:
 
One thing to keep in mind is the fact that food on the train is scanty at best. Bring your own if you want something more than frozen pizzas and burgers out of a microwave. You will get into Toronto around 8 ish. You can go to www.ttc.ca to find out the nearest subway to the Sheraton and the TTC (subway, bus, streetcar) share Union Stn with Via and GO. People also get turned away if they aren't citizens and don't have the required documents.
 
We boarded the Maple Leaf at the Buffalo DEPEW station and inquired about a cafe car and the response was. "Yes but she just closed to get stuff done before the border." Was asked why by train and my response was because thats how we travel all over in the US too. No more was asked, scanned our bags and on our way.
 
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