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
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
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (Standard Gauge)
Track owner(s)	Amtrak, Metro-North, CSX, Canadian National
Timetable number(s)	63, 64 (Amtrak) 95, 97 (Via)
Route map Legend Dist. Station 0   New York Penn 0   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  402 km Rome 291 mi  468 km Syracuse 370 mi  595 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 USA 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:

The Maple Leaf is an 875-kilometre (544 mi) passenger train route operated jointly by Amtrak and Via Rail from New York City's Pennsylvania Station to Toronto's Union Station via Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. The train travels each way during the daytime hours and takes approximately 12 hours for the entire journey. Around two hours of the trip is spent at the US/Canadian border for border controls at Niagara Falls, Ontario on westbound (Toronto-bound), and Niagara Falls, New York for eastbound (New York-bound) service. Amtrak rolling stock is used exclusively, although the train is staffed by Via Rail personnel while in Canada. The train is code shared with Via's Corridor service and Amtrak's Empire Service.

History

The original Maple Leaf passenger train was a Grand Trunk Western Railroad service between Chicago, Illinois and Toronto, Ontario. The service operated between Chicago's Dearborn Station and Toronto's Union Station on a route through Stratford, Ontario, Port Huron, Flint, Lansing, and Battle Creek, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana. The route between Battle Creek and Port Huron is still served by Amtrak trains 365 and 364, but is now called the Blue Water service.

The long-standing The Maple Leaf name was later applied to a joint Lehigh Valley Railroad/Canadian National overnight service between New York City and Toronto. Its only paralleled the Amtrak route to the extent that it shared the termini of Toronto and New York City along with Buffalo. It traveled an interior route into New York's Southern Tier, through Geneva, New York and Wilkes-Barre, Allentown and Bethlehem in eastern Pennsylvania. The last LV/CN Maple Leaf ran on Feb. 4, 1961.

Amtrak and Via Rail introduced the Maple Leaf along the "Water Level Route" along the Hudson River and Erie Canal on April 26, 1981. The new Maple Leaf was the first collaboration between the two companies and the first New York to Toronto passenger service in a decade. The new train utilized Amtrak's Amfleet coaches with a dinette car; Amtrak crews were changed to Via Rail crews at the border crossing. A 1982 consist included a baggage car, two coaches and a dinette; time spent in customs ranged from thirty minutes to two hours.

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

In 2013, the Maple Leaf was the target of a terror plot involving an attempt by two men, residents of Canada (but not Canadian citizens), who sought to derail the train. The two men were allegedly affiliates of an Al-Qaeda group operating out of Iran.

Route details

A change of locomotive is made at Albany on select days with P42DC units utilized north of Albany and P32AC-DM units taking over the remainder of the 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 service 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 instead of Penn Station.

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 trains NYC Transit buses: M4, M7, M20, M34 / M34A Select Bus Service, 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 RailLink 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: 114, 214
	Schenectady	Schenectady	Amtrak: Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited CDTA: 63, 70, 353, 354, 355, 905
	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 WEGO Niagara Falls (formerly Niagara Parks Commission People Mover)
	St. Catharines	St. Catharines	GO Transit: Lakeshore West Train Service St. Catharines Transit: 3, 15, 115
	Grimsby	Grimsby
	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, Kitchener 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 TTC: Yonge-University-Spadina Line, 509 Harbourfront, 510 Spadina Via Rail: The Canadian, The Corridor Ontario Northland: Northlander (discountinued 2012)

Consist and equipment

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

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 grows to six cars with the addition of an extra Amfleet II car during the winter Christmas Holiday Shopping rush to handle additional seasonal demand.

See also

• Adirondack (Amtrak)
• Empire Service
• Montrealer (Amtrak)

External links

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