Maple Leaf Business Class discussion

[AmtrakMaineiac]

Toronto is Canada's New York.( with High Prices)

Although for Americans, the favorable exchange rate helps to make prices a bit more affordable.

 

[Bronzeman]

We were on the ML last week—#63(3)—in business class. The Amtrak Cafe attendant was welcoming and helpful. Unlimited soft beverages. When the general announcement was made that the cafe car would be shutting down for the border crossing he poked his head into BC and said we could still get items. BC was full for most of the trip.

The VIA attendant and the VIA train crew were rather less friendly.

PRO TIP: If you’re leaving from NYP and crossing into Canada (as we were) do not wait in the general boarding queue. There is a separate both set up adjacent to the boarding gate where they check passports and tag luggage. As others have discussed, it is unclear why they bother since they didnt make similar checks for TWO passengers boarding north of NYP.

Canadian border check is inconvenient if not weird. Everyone detrains with luggage (no one that we saw had their luggage inspected). The passengers enter the “customs hall” in the west side of the station through its east door, wait in line to speak to an agent at the counter (ours was in a foul mood) then exit through west door. If continuing on (almost everyone was) you are told to walk around the south side of the building and enter the waiting room in the east half of the building. There it is a SRO wait (the room has far fewer seats then there were passengers) until you are permitted to reboard. On our trip everyone cleared and was in the waiting room at least 20 minutes before being permitted to reboard. If anyone was actually checking anything to clear the train it wasn’t apparent from where we were standing. BC is release to board through the east (right door) followed by passengers for destinations short of TWO. Coach passengers for TWO are released through the west door thereafter. It took about an hour, roughly half of which was spent standing around waiting to be released to reboard.

 

[Amtrak25]

Adirondack Trailways bus procedures in and out of Montreal is far better than Amtrak's Gate Dragons impersonating CBSA, and so is US Customs. Luggage tags and bar codes pasted on your e-ticket is so stupid. If there is anything that would make grouchy CBSA people laugh, it is that.

Bus driver glances at your passport wherever you get on along the way at the same moment as scanning your e-ticket, throw you heavy bags in the luggage loaders, and that is that.

Canadian Customs - everyone off with the luggage and carry ons. Nothing was inspected. It's all power trip.

US Customs - gets on bus to tell us specifically do not bring anything with you inside except your passport. When someone got up with their carry on, he snapped back "I just said do not bring anything with you".

In each direction, it took 25 minutes for 40 passengers. No one was hauled off for "interview" inquisitioning.

My "Pro Tip" - go to GCT if convenient, take Metro North to Yonkers or Harmon and get on there. I'd rather spend an hour there between trains than deal with Gate Dragons and kindergarten lines at Moynihan.

I have no desire to go to Toronto, but would take a bus if I did.

 

[JWM]

Wow, I went through East Germany before the wall fell to Berlin and didn't have to go through all of this.