Purpose of "Canadian Check-In" Podium at NYP?

[tjemartin]

Hello,

I know my question may not be directly related to Amtrak, but I do travel quite a bit between NFS and WIL mostly to see friends and family. I am just curious if anyone knows what the purpose of that "Canadian Check-In" Podium that is set up in the early morning for anyone travelling into Canada on Amtrak #63 (Maple Leaf)? You have to go through customs once Amtrak #63 leaves the NFL station anyways.

I don't see anything like that being set up at the NFS station for people who are travelling into the US on Amtrak #64

Maybe I'm missing something here?

Thank you in advance,

Tom M

 

[Ryan]

I think it is to make sure that you have the required documents before you get up to the border and realize that you can't get through.

 

[tjemartin]

I think it is to make sure that you have the required documents before you get up to the border and realize that you can't get through.

Guess that makes sense, not sure why I never thought of that before

 

[railiner]

We do similar at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York on all departures for Montreal. We then fax the manifest, with names and passport numbers to the border. If we bring anyone to the border without proper documentation, we may be charged a hefty fine, as well as being required to return them at our expense. We do not have to do the same for those destined to Toronto or other Ontario points, perhaps they check at Buffalo before crossing the border....?

 

[SubwayNut]

There isn't a pre check podium at any other station except NYP on the Maple Leaf or Adirondack, I if you get on at an intermediate stop its the conductors responsibility to check your passport (or other document) after boarding when scanning your ticket. I think the purpose of the one in New York is to save the conductors time to check everyone going the full distances from NYP to Montreal or Toronto (and the other Canadian intermediate stops). I also remember checking in at the podium to go to Vancouver from Seattle and getting my passport checked with my seat assignment.

Strangely I don't remember any pre-US passport checks going the other way from train crews or agents in Montreal or Toronto. In Vancouver you have to go through immigration in the station so that negates the crew having to check your passport.

 

[railiner]

True too, on our route to Montreal....we run some express trips to Montreal, but most of our schedules make several intermediate stops like Albany, Saratoga, Plattsburgh...

however the vast majority of international passengers are traveling to or from New York City and beyond. Very few from the 'way stations'.

 

[Shanghai]

As Ryan said, it is a document check to be certain passengers have the proper documentation

for entry. It's like the airlines check for international flights and avoids fines to the carriers if a

person arrives without the proper papers.

 

[Bob Dylan]

IINM you also get "Special" Canadian Luggage Tags since there is No Checked Baggage on Cross Border Trains?? When your Reservation for Canada is made you have to provide your means of ID (Passport/Special Liscense etc.) which is sent to HLS and the Canadian Government! As was said, Avoiding Fines and Transporting Passengers denied Admission to another Country is why all Transportation Companies are dilligent about you having the Proper Paperwork! (THat still Doesnt mean you will be Admitted, it just gets you to the Border! Lots of folks are Turned Away and some even Arrested! )

 

[Shanghai]

(THat still Doesnt mean you will be Admitted, it just gets you to the Border! Lots of folks are Turned Away and some even Arrested! )

How did you make it, Jim?? Or were you arrested??

 

[Bob Dylan]

(THat still Doesnt mean you will be Admitted, it just gets you to the Border! Lots of folks are Turned Away and some even Arrested! )

How did you make it, Jim?? Or were you arrested??

I have Connections in Ottawa Dick! :giggle:

 

[Devil's Advocate]

For the longest time I heard about bad experiences with Canadian boarder security but never really understood how bad it had become until I saw it myself. While heading from Seattle to Vancouver a Canadian boarder patrol lady became extremely suspicious that anyone would be passing into Canada "just to ride some train." She apparently didn't know or care what "The Canadian" was because the whole thing sounded like a bad joke to her. A joke that could only come from a criminal trying to subvert the boarder security process. I received a lot of weird questioning from this woman and it became clear that telling the truth only made her more suspicious. Really put the whole idea of friendly relations on ice and left a bad taste in my mouth. Here I was spending thousands of dollars on hotels, dining, and travel in order to tour her country and my very first experience was being made to feel like a criminal. Bleh.

 

[the_traveler]

(THat still Doesnt mean you will be Admitted, it just gets you to the Border! Lots of folks are Turned Away and some even Arrested! )

How did you make it, Jim?? Or were you arrested??

I have Connections in Ottawa Dick! :giggle:

Yeah, the RCMP said "Get rid of him, the Texas Rangers (and not the baseball team ) can deal with him!"

 

[The Davy Crockett]

(THat still Doesnt mean you will be Admitted, it just gets you to the Border! Lots of folks are Turned Away and some even Arrested! )

How did you make it, Jim?? Or were you arrested??

I have Connections in Ottawa Dick! :giggle:

Yeah, the RCMP said "Get rid of him, the Texas Rangers (and not the baseball team ) can deal with him!"

So Jim meant Corrections, not Connections? :lol:

 

[Eric S]

For the longest time I heard about bad experiences with Canadian boarder security but never really understood how bad it had become until I saw it myself. While heading from Seattle to Vancouver a Canadian boarder patrol lady became extremely suspicious that anyone would be passing into Canada "just to ride some train." She apparently didn't know or care what "The Canadian" was because the whole thing sounded like a bad joke to her. A joke that could only come from a criminal trying to subvert the boarder security process. I received a lot of weird questioning from this woman and it became clear that telling the truth only made her more suspicious. Really put the whole idea of friendly relations on ice and left a bad taste in my mouth. Here I was spending thousands of dollars on hotels, dining, and travel in order to tour her country and my very first experience was being made to feel like a criminal. Bleh.

I had a similar experience at Pearson in Toronto. I flew to Toronto before boarding the Canadian to Vancouver, and CBSA seemed to not really understand that anyone would ride a train just for the sake of riding a train. I explained that after arriving in Vancouver, I would be staying one night in a hotel and then flying out that next day. I was asked "what else?" and "and then what?" a number of times.

EDIT: I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised at the reaction, as I imagine most people (Americans and Canadians) would react similarly. ("You're riding the train just to ride the train? Seriously?")

 

[railiner]

The folks at border crossings don't seem to have any sense of humor.....

Way back in 1952, I was on an auto tour with my parents, my aunt and uncle. When we stopped at the Canadian border enroute to Montreal, the inspector asked if we were all U.S. citizens. My wise-cracking uncle said that we all were, except for him (pointing at me). He said that "He's from China".

Well the inspector, didn't appreciate the joke, and had us all get out and ran us all 'through the wringer', before finally admonishing my uncle, and letting us pass thru.

I learned a lesson from that, and don't utter a single syllable more than necessary when crossing the border since...

 

[The Davy Crockett]

EDIT: I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised at the reaction, as I imagine most people (Americans and Canadians) would react similarly. ("You're riding the train just to ride the train? Seriously?")

Probably a part of a broader policy on the part of PM Harper's government to discourage ridership.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

EDIT: I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised at the reaction, as I imagine most people (Americans and Canadians) would react similarly. ("You're riding the train just to ride the train? Seriously?")

Probably a part of a broader policy on the part of PM Harper's government to discourage ridership.

On the one hand it's laughable to think this sort of thing would be intentional. On the other hand I did leave with less interest in Canada than I came with, so intentional or not it certainly had an impact. I doubt this is any sort of conscious thing, but if you have a government setting a tone of general suspicion toward foreigners then eventually those seeds of distrust will blossom into more and more contempt based on less and less reason. I understand US security staff apparently have a similar attitude toward foreign tourists who visit our own country, so maybe this kind of reception is just a result of our own government's attitudes being reflected back at us.

 

[fairviewroad]

IINM you also get "Special" Canadian Luggage Tags since there is No Checked Baggage on Cross Border Trains??

There is no checked baggage to any destination on the Adirondack and Maple Leaf, not just the Canadian ones.

OTOH, the two daily Cascades trains that cross the border do offer checked bags. I don't recall getting a "special"

tag, just the normal ones, but maybe I didn't pay close enough attention.

I learned a lesson from that, and don't utter a single syllable more than necessary when crossing the border since...

This is the number one rule of any international border crossing anywhere. Tell the truth, but don't elaborate.

If they require elaboration, they will ask for it.

FWIW I cross the Canada-US border about 3x a year and I usually have no complaints. I've

bad experiences in both directions. (I once had some bored agents on the Minnesota/Manitoba border

remove every CD in my car from its case while wearing white gloves...after 20 minutes they were done

and wished me a good day, eh!) I've also been the driver when US agents separated a senior citizen

Canadian relative from the rest of us and grilled her about her visit, accusing her of wanting to move

here. (She was "saved" when she was able to produce an e-ticket print-out for her return flght, so another

lesson is ALWAYS print out your return e-tickets when crossing the border)

 

[zephyr17]

For the longest time I heard about bad experiences with Canadian boarder security but never really understood how bad it had become until I saw it myself. While heading from Seattle to Vancouver a Canadian boarder patrol lady became extremely suspicious that anyone would be passing into Canada "just to ride some train." She apparently didn't know or care what "The Canadian" was because the whole thing sounded like a bad joke to her. A joke that could only come from a criminal trying to subvert the boarder security process. I received a lot of weird questioning from this woman and it became clear that telling the truth only made her more suspicious. Really put the whole idea of friendly relations on ice and left a bad taste in my mouth. Here I was spending thousands of dollars on hotels, dining, and travel in order to tour her country and my very first experience was being made to feel like a criminal. Bleh.

Yeah, welcome to Vancouver's Pacific Central Station. I go up there about twice a year to get my train fix in (the Cascades to Vancouver is by far the most convienent rail day trip for me), and your experience is exactly in line with my experience with CBSA there over the a course of many years. I don't know what it is there, but it is consistently the worst border crossing I have. Those experiences were a big part of the reason I finally got a NEXUS card, which has made a marginal improvement.

 

[RailRide]

True too, on our route to Montreal....we run some express trips to Montreal, but most of our schedules make several intermediate stops like Albany, Saratoga, Plattsburgh...

however the vast majority of international passengers are traveling to or from New York City and beyond. Very few from the 'way stations'.

I'm curious about those 'express' runs...I've taken that same route NY-Montreal once a year for the past decade or so, and the only time I've ridden "express" is when my bus left late due to having to trot out an extra bus or (usually) two to accomodate the crowds, and would skip one or two of the usual stops since the earlier buses would make them.

Last time I made the trip I was told that Canadians buying Montreal-NYC RT tickets from Greyhound Canada don't show up in Greyhound USA's computers, so when they show up at the PABT for their return trips, nobody has a clue how many there will be for a particular departure (I usually take the midnight departure from NYC).

---PCJ

 

[railiner]

True too, on our route to Montreal....we run some express trips to Montreal, but most of our schedules make several intermediate stops like Albany, Saratoga, Plattsburgh...

however the vast majority of international passengers are traveling to or from New York City and beyond. Very few from the 'way stations'.

I'm curious about those 'express' runs...I've taken that same route NY-Montreal once a year for the past decade or so, and the only time I've ridden "express" is when my bus left late due to having to trot out an extra bus or (usually) two to accomodate the crowds, and would skip one or two of the usual stops since the earlier buses would make them.

Last time I made the trip I was told that Canadians buying Montreal-NYC RT tickets from Greyhound Canada don't show up in Greyhound USA's computers, so when they show up at the PABT for their return trips, nobody has a clue how many there will be for a particular departure (I usually take the midnight departure from NYC).

---PCJ

Now that the summer peak travel season is over, we have cut out a few trips. In your case, if you are traveling on a Friday or Sunday night, take the 11:00 PM trip instead of the Midniight departure....it cuts out Saratoga and Plattsburgh, only makes a rest stop at Albany, and saves you over a half hour of travel.

Often times, even though the timetable does not list a 'non-stop' trip, if travel is heavy enough to fill a section of all Montreal, we will load it that way, and in that case not even stop in Albany, but make a highway rest stop instead. That really saves time.

As you are probably aware, we load all Montreal passengers at gate 26, where we check documents, and all intermediate stops at gate 30. Sometimes we combine the two lines onto one bus when it is slow, but other times load two buses (or more) when necessary....

 

[Michael061282]

For the longest time I heard about bad experiences with Canadian boarder security but never really understood how bad it had become until I saw it myself. While heading from Seattle to Vancouver a Canadian boarder patrol lady became extremely suspicious that anyone would be passing into Canada "just to ride some train." She apparently didn't know or care what "The Canadian" was because the whole thing sounded like a bad joke to her. A joke that could only come from a criminal trying to subvert the boarder security process. I received a lot of weird questioning from this woman and it became clear that telling the truth only made her more suspicious. Really put the whole idea of friendly relations on ice and left a bad taste in my mouth. Here I was spending thousands of dollars on hotels, dining, and travel in order to tour her country and my very first experience was being made to feel like a criminal. Bleh.

That was my exact experience also in Vancouver, even to the point where she asked me "aren't there any American trains that you can take to Toronto?" I wonder if it's the same woman. I told her no, not without going WAY out of my way, plus there's no train in the US that can compete with the Canadian, I thought a little flattery might sooth the ogress, but it didn't.