Maple Leaf (train)

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 (Buffalo-Toronto) that ended in 1967. That earlier train began as the Cleveland Limited westbound, with sleeper passengers having a continuous carriage ride (eastbound riders joined the Ohio State Limited for the Buffalo-New York City leg).[1][2] By contrast, the modern Maple Leaf was a unified New York City-Toronto train. There was also a similarly New York City-Toronto named Maple Leaf operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad from 1937 until 1961, a train which traveled through northern New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania.

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.[3] The new route goes through the two Niagara Falls towns on both sides of the border, before going to Aldershot in Burlington, then Toronto. The prior New York Central trains crossed from Buffalo to Ontario south of the Niagara Falls and made five stops in Ontario before reaching Toronto.[4][5]

An Amtrak crew operates the train in the United States, while a Via Rail crew operates the train in Canada.[6] 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.[7]^:107

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 Canada-United States border was banned in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9] 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."[10] GO Transit still operates weekend trains to Niagara Falls from Toronto's Union Station year-round.[11]

Amtrak Maple Leaf (interactive map)

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.[15] In Canada, the service shares the route of the GO Transit Lakeshore West commuter rail line.

VIA Maple Leaf sign at Toronto Union Station

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.

• 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.
• Amtrak Niagara connection, Niagara Falls, NY to CN Niagara Falls Yard (Grimsby Subdivision), Niagara Falls, ON

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.

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

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:

• 1 P42DC or P32AC-DM locomotive
• 1 Amfleet I Cafe/'Businessclass' car
• 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. 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 I car is added to the Maple Leaf consist during the Christmas shopping rush to handle additional demand.

• Cascades
• Montrealer

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maple Leaf (train).

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