Maple leaf seating question

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williamn

Train Attendant
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Messages
73
In a few weeks I'm taking the Maple Leaf from NYC to Toronto, traveling in Business Class.

An option has sprung up for the three of us to join the train at Croton-Harmon, but I am concerned that by this point there might not be 3 seats together (either 2 plus one across the aisle or 2 with one behind). Last time I took the Maple Leaf, further along the route, Business class seemed to be 100% full.

What do you think? Would we be better off boarding at Penn?
 
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Permit me to make an educated guess. I bet lots of business passengers would get off at Albany, freeing up seats. I would get on at Croton if that is more convenient for you.

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It is ahrd to tell what will happen on the Maple Leaf BC with any certainty. In general it is a West of Albany heavy train, and BC may not empty out as much at Albany as one might hope for. A lot depends on what is going on in Albany that day.
 
Since the BC Car on the Maple Leaf has 2x1 Seating in the Cafe Car, I suggest you use a Redcap to early board @ NYP, and ask the LSA in the Cafe if you can reserve one of the Single Seats across from where you sit and the seat next to you since your associates will board up the line.

Wouldn't hurt to ask the Conductor or AC either since you're going all the way to Toronto.

You are aware that the Maple Leaf becomes a VIA Train soon as it stops @ the Niagara Falls,ON Station ( the Crew and,Cafe items,are changed out but the Amtrak Equipment is used to/from Toronto where you retrain and go through Canadian Customs and Immigration right?) And don't forget your Passport!)
 
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We'll all be boarding at the same place, either NYP or Croton.

And yes, done the trip before so know all about the customs procedure - though don't understand why it can't be done on the train like the Adirondack!
 
We'll all be boarding at the same place, either NYP or Croton.

And yes, done the trip before so know all about the customs procedure - though don't understand why it can't be done on the train like the Adirondack!
Actually, Adirondack is stuck with doing on train until the new C&I facilities go on line in Montreal Central, when it will move off train, like it is at Vancouver pacific Central Station for the Cascades. Currently there is no facility at the border where people can be reasonably moved off train. Specially at Lacolle that would be putting passengers off on the ballast!
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Rouses point at least has a platform, but not much else.

Europe generally has good C&I onboard trains that cross the border. Except the Eurostars are inspected before boarding with no inspection at the destination. In Asia mostly it involves getting off the train at the border station, and sometimes twice, to cross a border since most countries have both exit and entry inspections, and want to carry out the inspection in their own territory. Sometimes it is at the same station like Padang Besar, which is at least notionally, at exactly the border between Malaysia and Thailand. Other times at two different station at the border like it used to be between India and Bangladesh at Gede and Darshana. Recently this at border inspection has been replaced by inspection before boarding the train at the origin, and upon disembarkation at the destination - in this case at Kolkata International and Dhaka Cantonment.
 
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