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 544-mile (875Â km) trip takes approximately 12 hours, including two hours for customs and immigration inspection. Although Amtrak rolling stock is used exclusively, the train is staffed by Via Rail personnel 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 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 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.
In the US an Amtrak crew operates the train whereas in Canada a Via Rail crew is in charge. Because of this need for a crew exchange, 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.
The Maple Leaf is one of four New York Amtrak routes that are primarily state funded with the others being the Adirondack, the Empire Service, and the Ethan Allen Express. Primary funding for these routes is from the New York State Department of Transportation rather than federal funding.
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 Amtrak's Empire Service. 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 line.
The Maple Leaf operates over Metrolinx, Canadian National Railway, CSX Transportation, Metro-North Railroad, and Amtrak trackage:
- Metrolinx Oakville Subdivision, Toronto to Burlington
- CN Oakville Subdivision and Grimsby Subdivision, Burlington to Niagara Falls
- CSX Niagara Subdivision, Buffalo Terminal Subdivision, Rochester Subdivision, Mohawk Subdivision, Selkirk Subdivision, and Hudson Subdivision, Niagara Falls to Schenectady (Amtrak leases the Hudson Subdivision between Schenectady and Poughkeepsie from CSX)
- MNRR Hudson Line, Poughkeepsie to Spuyten Duyvil
- Amtrak Empire Connection, Spuyten Duyvil to Penn Station
Equipment
The Maple Leaf operates year-round with an Amtrak P42DC or P32AC-DM locomotive and Amfleet I & II passenger cars. A typical consist will include:
- 1 P42DC/ P32AC-DM locomotive
- 1 Amfleet I Cafe/'Businessclass' car
- 1-2 Amfleet II 'Coachclass' cars
- 2-4 Amfleet I 'Coachclass' cars
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. Typically, P42DC locomotives are used between Albany and Toronto, which results in a locomotive change 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.
See also
- Adirondack
- Cascades
- Empire Service
- Montrealer
References
External links
- Amtrak â€" Maple Leaf
- Via Rail Canada â€" Toronto-Niagara Falls train