Maple Leaf (train)

Maple Leaf
The Maple Leaf crosses the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, in 1983.
Overview
Service type	International Inter-city rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Eastern United States/Canada
First service	April 26, 1981
Current operator(s)	Amtrak (within US) Via Rail (within Canada)
Route
Start	New York City, New York, United States
No. of intermediate stops	20
End	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Distance travelled	544 mi (875 km)
Average journey time	12 hours, 30 minutes (includes time at border control)
Service frequency	Daily each way
On-board services
Class(es)	Business and standard class
Seating arrangements	Reserved Coach Seat Business Class Seat
Catering facilities	On-board café (not available between New York City and Albany)
Baggage facilities	Carry-on baggage only
Technical
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Track owner(s)	Amtrak, Metro-North, CSX, Canadian National
Timetable number(s)	63, 64 (Amtrak) 95, 97 (Via)
Route map Legend Distance Station 0 mi (0 km) New York Penn 0 mi (0 km) Grand Central Terminal 14 mi (23 km) Yonkers 32 mi (51 km) Croton-Harmon 73 mi (117 km) Poughkeepsie 88 mi (142 km) Rhinecliff-Kingston 114 mi (183 km) Hudson 141 mi (227 km) Albany-Rensselaer Hudson River 159 mi (256 km) Schenectady Adirondack and Ethan Allen Express to Montreal and Rutland 177 mi (285 km) Amsterdam 237 mi (381 km) Utica 250 mi (400 km) Rome 291 mi (468 km) Syracuse 370 mi (600 km) Rochester 431 mi (694 km) Buffalo-Depew Lake Shore Limited to Chicago 437 mi (703 km) Buffalo-Exchange St. 460 mi (740 km) Niagara Falls US/Canada border 462 mi (744 km) Niagara Falls 473 mi (761 km) St. Catharines 488 mi (785 km) Grimsby 512 mi (824 km) Aldershot 523 mi (842 km) Oakville 544 mi (875 km) Toronto This route map: view · talk · edit

Amtrak locomotive #106 pushing its train east through Toronto's Mimico GO Station.

The Maple Leaf is a 875-kilometre (544 mi) passenger train route operated jointly by Via Rail and Amtrak from New York City's Pennsylvania Station to Toronto's Union Station via Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. The train travels during the day and takes approximately 12 hours for the 875-kilometre (544 mi) journey. Around two hours of this is required for border controls at Niagara Falls. Amtrak rolling stock is used exclusively although staffed by Via while in Canada. The train is code shared with Via's Corridor service.

History

The original Maple Leaf passenger train was a Grand Trunk Western Railroad service between Chicago, Illinois and Toronto, Ontario. The trains terminated or originated at Chicago's Dearborn Station and Toronto's Union Station and ran on a route through Stratford, Ontario, Port Huron, Flint, Lansing, and Battle Creek, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana. The route between Chicago and Port Huron is still served by Amtrak trains 365 and 364 now called the Blue Water service. The Maple Leaf name was later applied to a joint Lehigh Valley Railroad/Canadian National overnight service between New York City and Toronto. The last LV/CN Maple Leaf ran on Feb. 4, 1961.

Amtrak and Via introduced the Maple Leaf on April 26, 1981. The new Maple Leaf was the first collaboration between the two companies and the first New York–Toronto passenger service in a decade. The new train carried Amtrak's Amfleet coaches plus a dinette; Amtrak crews gave way to Via crews at the border.^[1] A 1982 consist included a baggage car, two coaches and a dinette; time spent in customs ranged from thirty minutes to two hours.^[2]

The Maple Leaf was one of the last Amtrak trains to receive the new GE Genesis locomotive owing to the Via crews' unfamiliarity with the unit. The Maple Leaf retained the EMD F40PH until Via received its own Genesis locomotives in 2002.^[3]

Route details

A change of locomotive is made at Albany on select days with P42DC units utilized north of Albany and P32AC-DMs taking over the remainder route to Penn Station. The Maple Leaf has previously operated with P32ACDM units directly from Toronto to New York. Rarely, the P32ACDM may stay on the train to Toronto. East of the border crossing, the line is shared with Empire Service trains. Prior to the completion of the Empire Connection in 1991 the Maple Leaf originated at Grand Central Terminal in New York and not Penn Station.^[4]

The Maple Leaf operates over Canadian National Railway, CSX Transportation, Metro-North Railroad, and Amtrak trackage:

• CN Oakville Subdivision and Grimsby Subdivision, Toronto to Niagara Falls
• CSX Niagara Subdivision, Buffalo Terminal Subdivision, Rochester Subdivision, Mohawk Subdivision, Selkirk Subdivision, and Hudson Subdivision, Niagara Falls to Poughkeepsie (Amtrak-owned between Hoffmans and Schenectady)
• MNRR Hudson Line, Poughkeepsie to Spuyten Duyvil
• Amtrak Empire Connection, Spuyten Duyvil to Penn Station

Station stops

State/Province	Town/City	Station	Connections
New York	New York City	Penn Station	Amtrak: Acela Express, Adirondack, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Lake Shore Limited, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Pennsylvanian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter LIRR: Main Line, Port Washington Branch NJ Transit: North Jersey Coast Line, Northeast Corridor Line, Gladstone Branch, Montclair-Boonton Line, Morristown Line NYC Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E NYC Transit buses: M4, M16, M20, M34, Q32
	Yonkers	Yonkers	Amtrak: Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express Bee-Line: 6, 9, 25, 32, 91 (seasonal service) Metro-North Railroad: Hudson Line
	Croton-on-Hudson	Croton-Harmon	Amtrak: Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited Bee-Line: 10, 11, 14 Metro-North Railroad: Hudson Line
	Poughkeepsie	Poughkeepsie	Amtrak: Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express Dutchess LOOP: A, B, C, D, E, Poughkeepsie Commuter Connection City of Poughkeepsie Transit: Main Street, Shoppers' Special UCAT Ulster-Poughkeepsie LINK Metro-North Railroad: Hudson Line
	Rhinecliff	Rhinecliff-Kingston	Amtrak: Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express
	Hudson	Hudson	Amtrak: Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express
	Rensselaer	Albany-Rensselaer	Amtrak: Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited CDTA: NX Northway Express, 14, 15, 24
	Schenectady	Schenectady	Amtrak: Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited
	Amsterdam	Amsterdam	Amtrak: Empire Service
	Utica	Utica Union Station	Adirondack Scenic Railroad: to Thendara, New York Amtrak: Empire Service, Lake Shore Limited CENTRO: 15, 31
	Rome	Rome	Amtrak: Empire Service
	Syracuse	Syracuse	Amtrak: Empire Service, Lake Shore Limited CENTRO: 16, 48, 50, 60, 62, 70, 82, 236, 246, 250
		New York State Fair	Amtrak: Empire Service Train only stops during fair
	Rochester	Rochester	Amtrak: Empire Service, Lake Shore Limited
	Depew	Buffalo-Depew	Amtrak: Empire Service, Lake Shore Limited
	Buffalo	Buffalo-Exchange Street Station	Amtrak: Empire Service, Thruway Motorcoach to Jamestown, New York
	Niagara Falls	Niagara Falls	Amtrak: Empire Service
Ontario	Niagara Falls	Niagara Falls	GO Transit: Lakeshore West Train and Bus Service Niagara Falls Transit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, Green Line Falls Shuttle Niagara Region Transit: 50/55, 60/65, Fort Erie Link Niagara Parks Commission People Mover Via Rail: The Corridor
	St. Catharines	St. Catharines	GO Transit: Lakeshore West Train Service St. Catharines Transit: 3, 15, 115 Via Rail: The Corridor
	Grimsby	Grimsby	Via Rail: The Corridor
	Burlington	Aldershot	GO Transit: Lakeshore West Train and Bus Service Burlington Transit: 1 Hamilton Street Railway: 18 Via Rail: The Corridor
	Oakville	Oakville	GO Transit: Lakeshore West Train and Bus Service, Oakville Hwy 403 Bus Service, Oakville Hwy 407 Bus Service Oakville Transit: 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 180, 190, 200 Via Rail: The Corridor
	Toronto	Union Station	GO Transit: Barrie Train and Bus Service, Brampton Trinity Common Bus Service, Georgetown Train Service, Hamilton QEW Bus Service, Lakeshore East Train and Bus Service, Lakeshore West Train and Bus Service, Milton Train and Bus Service, Orangeville Bus Service, Port Perry Bus Service, Richmond Hill Train and Bus Service, Stouffville Train and Bus Service, Sutton Bus Service Ontario Northland Railway: Northlander TTC: Yonge-University-Spadina Line, 509 Harbourfront, 510 Spadina Via Rail: The Canadian, The Corridor

Consist and equipment

The Maple Leaf operates year-round with Amtrak P42DC & P32AC-DM units and Amfleet I & II equipment. A typical consist will include:

• 1 P42DC/P32AC-DM locomotive
• 1 Amfleet I Cafe/'businessclass' car
• 4 Amfleet II 'coachclass' cars

The Maple Leaf consist swells to six cars with the addition of an extra Amfleet II car during the winter Christmas Holiday Shopping rush to handle additional seasonal demand.

References

1. ^ "Amtrak's new Toronto-NY line fills 10-year void; may be a winner". Miami News. April 28, 1981. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IaglAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wfMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5163,2109370&dq=amtrak+maple-leaf&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
2. ^ Malcolm, Andrew H. (February 14, 1982). "New York to Toronto Train". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/14/travel/new-york-to-toronto-tra-in.html. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
3. ^ Solomon, Brian (2004). Amtrak. MBI. http://books.google.com/books?id=313LC1TljQMC. ; 107.
4. ^ "Travel Advisory; Grand Central Trains Rerouted To Penn Station". The New York Times. April 7, 1991. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/07/travel/travel-advisory-grand-central-trains-rerouted-to-penn-station.html. Retrieved 2010-02-07. 

See also

• Montrealer (Amtrak)
• Adirondack (Amtrak)

External links

• Amtrak – Maple Leaf
• Via Rail Canada – Toronto-Niagara Falls train