Maple Leaf (train)


The Maple Leaf is an international passenger train service operated by Amtrak and Via Rail between Pennsylvania Station in New York City and Union Station in Toronto via the Empire Corridor. Daily service is offered in both directions; the trip takes approximately 12 hours, including two hours for customs and immigration inspection at Niagara Falls. Although the train uses Amtrak rolling stock exclusively, the train is operated by Via Rail crews while in Canada. Service began in 1981.

History

Amtrak and Via Rail introduced the Maple Leaf along the Hudson River and Erie Canal on April 26, 1981. The Maple Leaf replaced Buffalo–Toronto connecting service operated by Via and the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway, the latter of which discontinued passenger service that day. The new Maple Leaf was the first collaboration between the two companies and the first direct New York-Toronto passenger service in a decade, the last being an overnight TH&B, New York Central, and Canadian Pacific Railway train called The Ontarian that ended in 1970. There was also a similarly named Maple Leaf operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad from 1937 until 1961. The new train employed Amtrak's Amfleet coaches with a dinette car. A 1982 consist included a baggage car, two coaches and a dinette; time spent in customs ranged from thirty minutes to two hours.
An Amtrak crew operates the train in the United States, while a Via Rail crew operates the train in Canada. The crew change takes place in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Because of this need for a crew exchange, the Maple Leaf was led by some of the last EMD F40PH locomotives in Amtrak revenue service. While most Amtrak routes outside the Northeast Corridor had switched to the GE Genesis by 2000, it had not been added to the Maple Leaf owing to the Via Rail crews' unfamiliarity with the unit. The Maple Leaf retained the F40PH until Via received its own Genesis locomotives in 2002.
The Maple Leaf is one of four New York Amtrak routes that are primarily state-funded with the others being the Adirondack, Empire Service, and Ethan Allen Express. Primary funding for these routes is from the New York State Department of Transportation rather than federal funding.
In March 2020, Maple Leaf service west of Niagara Falls, New York was suspended indefinitely after all non-essential travel across the Canadian border was banned in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Via did not provide alternate service on the Canadian side of the border; as of late May, the Toronto-Niagara Falls leg is listed as "cancelled until further notice."

2013 terror plot

In 2013, the Maple Leaf was the target of a failed terror plot involving an attempt by two men, both non-citizen residents of Canada, who sought to derail the train as it crossed a bridge over the Twenty Mile Creek near Jordan, Ontario. The two men were allegedly affiliates of an Al-Qaeda group operating out of Iran.

Route details

In the United States, the Maple Leaf shares the route of the Empire Service, Amtrak's corridor service along the former main line of the New York Central Railroad. 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. In Canada, the service shares the route of the GO Transit Lakeshore West commuter rail line.
The Maple Leaf operates over Metrolinx and Canadian National Railway trackage in Canada, and CSX Transportation, Metro-North Railroad, and Amtrak trackage in the United States.
Amtrak numbers the train as 63 northbound and 64 southbound. Via numbers it as 97 southbound and 98 northbound, and brands the Toronto-Niagara Falls leg as part of its Corridor services.
Northbound trains leave New York after the morning rush, arriving in Syracuse at noon, crossing into Canada during the afternoon rush and arriving in Toronto in early evening. Southbound trains leave Toronto after the morning rush, cross into the United States just after noon and arrive in New York in mid-evening. Trains stop for two hours for customs procedures in Niagara Falls, Ontario northbound and Niagara Falls, New York southbound.

Station stops

Equipment

The Maple Leaf operates year-round with an Amtrak GE P42DC or P32AC-DM locomotive and Amfleet I & II passenger cars. A typical consist will include:
Between Albany and New York, the train is always pulled by a P32AC-DM dual-mode locomotive, since diesel operation is prohibited in New York Penn Station. The train switches "on-the-fly" to third rail when it enters the Penn Station tunnel. Typically, the P32AC-DM is swapped for a P42DC diesel locomotive in Albany. Occasionally, the P32AC-DM locomotive will stay on the train all the way to Toronto.
An extra Amfleet II car is added to the Maple Leaf consist during the Christmas shopping rush to handle additional demand.