Maple Leaf Reliability

[saxman]

My grandparents want me to plan a trip for them to mainly take the Canadian. But first they want to see about stopping in Syracuse to see their friend, and then board the Maple Leaf to Toronto to connect with to the Canadian that night. The Maple Leaf is scheduled to arrive into TWO at 7:42 PM. The Canadian leaves at 10:00 PM, three days a week. So is that a connection you would make? I suggested they should probably pay for a hotel in Toronto for a day, seeing how they will probably pay quite a bit of money to ride the Canadian, and I'm not very aware of VIA's cancellation policies when it comes to missed trains. I know when I rode the Canadian last March, there were no refunds or exchanges, but I did get a deeply discounted fare for my trip.

 

[pennyk]

When i took the Canadian in December, I was told by AU experts NOT to try to make a same day connection. I overnighted in Toronto, although I could have made the connection. I would have been very stressed out if i had tried to connect the same day.

 

[DingDong]

Would it be a good idea to buy your Amtrak ticket from Syracuse to St. Catherines, and then buy a Via ticket from St. Catherines to Vancouver, so that Via realizes you are a connecting passenger?

 

[thully]

I think that's basically what they should do - though I would call VIA and make sure this will work before making the reservation (and check what VIA does for missed connections).. It does seem that VIA will indeed book the Maple Leaf-Canadian connection, though they won't allow you to book the American segment.

You could probably just book tickets from SYR to NFS (Amtrak) and NFS to VAC (VIA) - but that may not work if they process continuing passengers and passengers disembarking differently (in which case just do St. Catherines).

 

[Bob Dylan]

I'd go with the Overnite in TWO Chris! Between the unknown between ALB and the Border, plus the Customs and Immigration Bottleneck in Niagara Falls (you have to get off the Train now and go into the Station, it has been known to last for 2 Hours!!!), taking a chance on getting there on time for a three times a week connection is iffy?? Business Class on the Maple Leaf is definitely worth it for the 2X1 Seating and Cafe Car.. (of course the Train becomes a VIA Train in Niagara Falls, ON and the Crew and all the Snacks and Drinks are changed out during the dwell in the Niagara Falls Station!)Nice trip as you know!

 

[thully]

It might be worth it to spend the night in TWO anyway, but if VIA guarantees connections like Amtrak does (i.e. by giving hotel vouchers/holding trains/doing bus bridges), then I don't see the harm of just booking the connection (Amtrak SYR-NFS, VIA NFS-TWO (on the same train) and TWO-VAC). The only concern I'd have is if sleeper space is booked up solid on the Canadian and you end up missing a connection and being stuck in coach

However, the only way to know for sure what the deal is with connections is to ask VIA...

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I think that they should overnight in TWO. It's always good to have extra time because if they miss the Canadian, then the trip will be ruined.

 

[AlanB]

I would NOT chance it even if you booked the connection with VIA.

1) You don't want to be sitting there worrying about the connection, or standing in customs worrying.

2) Even though the start from Toronto isn't all that exciting scenery wise, do you really want to be bused to catch up with the Canadian?

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Stop over in Toronto for the extra day.......there's just so much to see!

A same day connection will probably work fine but it's not worth the stress.

 

[jacorbett70]

I'm doing the same thing for my trip: NYP-TWO on Monday and departing on Tuesday. Not risking the same-day.

Now I'm just trying to figure how Amtrak/VIA figures the fares for the Maple Leaf trip I'll be booking.

NYP-TWO: $114

NYP-NFL: $60-AAA discount=$54. NFL-TWO: $38. Total $92. ($98 w/o AAA)

That's the new math for sure.