Toronto to Pittsburgh

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Ima

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Hi! I am trying to plan my very first train trip. I want to go from Toronto to Pittsburgh. I figured out how to get from Toronto to Erie, but for some reason no trains are coming up in the schedule as going from Erie to Pittsburgh.

I am fairly certain that there are at least two trains that run that way, the Capitol and the Lakeshore. Am I doing something wrong? Has service into Pittsburgh stopped?
 
Ima said:
Hi! I am trying to plan my very first train trip. I want to go from Toronto to Pittsburgh. I figured out how to get from Toronto to Erie, but for some reason no trains are coming up in the schedule as going from Erie to Pittsburgh.

I am fairly certain that there are at least two trains that run that way, the Capitol and the Lakeshore. Am I doing something wrong? Has service into Pittsburgh stopped?
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The only train that serves Erie is the Lake Shore Limited. It doesn't service Pittsburgh.

https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=ERI

https://www.amtrak.com/lake-shore-limited-train
 
Okay. Then I guess I will have to take a different approach. How can I get from Toronto to Pittsburgh?
 
OK - I looked more carefully. Should take about 2 hours by car. It's possible by Amtrak, but I can see why the reservation system would lock out this route. It would be the following:

Erie, PA - Cleveland, OH - on the Lake Shore Limited (49) - 1:48 AM - 3:27 AM.

Cleveland, OH - Pittsburgh, PA - on the Capitol Limited (30) - 1:54 AM - 5:20 AM.

That 22.5 hour transfer time is probably why it doesn't come up in the reservation system. There are other ways to do it since the routes overlap, like transfer at Elyria, Sandusky, or Toledo. You could force it via a multi-city reservation. I tried for a random date in February and got $48.

Google Maps comes up with a similar route but recommends a transfer in Elyria.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Amtrak+Station+-+ERI,+125+W+14th+St,+Erie,+PA+16501/Amtrak+Station+-+PGH,+Liberty+Avenue,+Pittsburgh,+PA/@41.2768967,-82.168491,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x8832801dfbe17ddf:0x672c1632df2ce235!2m2!1d-80.0823182!2d42.1207391!1m5!1m1!1s0x8834f1589fe2b1bf:0x6dffce30c7354135!2m2!1d-79.9921724!2d40.4441168!3e3

There's also a U shaped route to NY Penn Station, but that's also overnight. One heck of a way to get there though. That would be Lake Shore Limited all the way to NYP, then the Pennsylvanian all the way to Pittsburgh.

It looks like Greyhound runs from Erie to Pittsburgh twice a day (7929 or 4637) and and takes about 3-1/2 hours with four stops in between. I got $19 online fare.
 
There is no reasonable way to get from Toronto to Pittsburgh by train, due to the connection times mentioned above at Cleveland. The Capital Limited departs before the Lake Shore Limited arrives.
 
Toronto to New York on The Maple Leaf. You'll have to overnight in NY and the next day The Pennsylvanian to Pittsburgh or a NE Regional to DC, then The Capitol Limited. Roundabout way for sure,but there is no direct route, If you wanted to go by bus Megabus goes from Toronto to NYC and then another bus to Pittsburgh. If you take an early morning bus from Toronto, you can catch the overnight bus to Pittsburgh, Then again, you are going by bus. Greyound might have other more direct routes..
 
Similar to the poster who asked about their first train trip, and wanted to go to Nashville, some city pairs, whether served directly by Amtrak or not, just don't work at all. There are quite a lot actually.
 
Ima said:
Okay. Then I guess I will have to take a different approach. How can I get from Toronto to Pittsburgh?
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Private car. Definitely by plane (just an hour flight time). Greyhound seems to serve the route. It would be Toronto to Buffalo, NY first. Then a transfer from Buffalo to Pittsburgh. There's only one each day with one connection. The rest have two connections.
 
Guest Ima, sometimes you just have to accept you can't ride Amtrak to your chosen destination. I live in Nashville, TN, and I actually fly to and/or from my Amtrak origin and destination points since Amtrak's only line through Tennessee is over 200 miles to the west. The City of New Orleans stops in Memphis. Personally, being a native Louisianian I fly Southwest to New Orleans to begin most of my Amtrak Adventures. This summer I will be traveling Via Rail so I will fly American Airlines to Toronto to begin my travel. I am riding Via Corridor Trains and the Ocean to visit Halifax, Montreal, and Toronto.
 
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Air Canada flies Toronto-Pearson to Pittsburgh non-stop twice a day. Porter Airlines flies non-stop from Toronto-City to Pittsburgh non-stop twice a day. The latter's fares seem to be quite competitive with land travel, especially when you factor in the time savings.
 
Tennessee Traveler said:
Guest Ima, sometimes you just have to accept you can't ride Amtrak to your chosen destination. I live in Nashville, TN, and I actually fly to and/or from my Amtrak origin and destination points since Amtrak's only line through Tennessee is over 200 miles to the west. The City of New Orleans stops in Memphis. Personally, being a native Louisianian I fly Southwest to New Orleans to begin most of my Amtrak Adventures. This summer I will be traveling Via Rail so I will fly American Airlines to Toronto to begin my travel. I am riding Via Corridor Trains and the Ocean to visit Halifax, Montreal, and Toronto.
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This is a bit off subject, but Halifax is a beautiful city. That's the area where my partner is from, so we've spent many months on vacation there. There is quite a bit to do. Halifax is a fairly small downtown in my opinion, although it is a bit hilly, so don't be afraid to stay at a hotel other than the Westin (although it is quite convenient, as it is attached directly to the ViaRail station). The hotel has great staff, and beautiful views of the harbor and cruise port, but it is a bit tired.

I won't keep dragging the post further off subject, so if you would like to send me a private message we can talk further. I've got a few different suggestions for things to do, places to eat, where to stay, etc.

If you don't? Have a great visit!
 
fairviewroad said:
Air Canada flies Toronto-Pearson to Pittsburgh non-stop twice a day. Porter Airlines flies non-stop from Toronto-City to Pittsburgh non-stop twice a day. The latter's fares seem to be quite competitive with land travel, especially when you factor in the time savings.
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Porter is a really good airline to fly, they have a nice lounge at City Airport for all passengers, and decent seats for airlines. They're super friendly and will gate check your bag for free.
 
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