In May 2023, I rode Amtrak’s Maple Leaf from Toronto via Niagara and Buffalo to New York City. I stayed overnight in New York and then took the Adirondack from New York to Montreal.
I had some business meetings in Montreal but then took VIA Rail back to Toronto.
Toronto to New York City
The Maple Leaf is a daily train leaving Toronto in the morning, crossing the border at the Rainbow Bridge across the Niagara River into the United States. It crosses upstate New York to Albany before travelling down the Hudson River to New York City.
I had booked a business class ticket for only slightly more than economy. Two nice perks were that the business car was not very busy so I could easily slide over to the other side to look out the window as well as look out the back of the train.
In Niagara Falls, NY, we all left the train to be processed by the border control. We had to wait in the station for all the passengers to be processed before we were allowed to re-board the train.
The only other stop that you can disembark is Albany, NY, just after the train crosses to the west side of the Hudson River. We had a gorgeous ride down to New York City with the setting sun across the river.
In New York City, the train arrived in Moynihan Hall at Penn Station. There was enough time to grab some dinner, check into my hotel and explore a bit of mid-town.
New York City to Montreal
The next morning there was a line up to board the Adirondack to Montreal because there were no assigned seats. However, Amtrak boarded from a different direction than expected and there was a mad rush to the train. Fortunately, I was able to get a window seat on the west side of the very full train.
I retraced my way up the Hudson to Albany and then continued north along the New York / Vermont boarder to Lake Champlain. The crossing back into Canada took place in the middle of a field. We stopped while border agents boarded the train and walk through the train asking all the passengers questions. The agent was puzzled that I had crossed into the US only the day before! The entire process took over an hour and meant we were late arriving Montreal.
Montreal to Toronto
After a night in Montreal and some work meetings, I took VIA Rail back home to Toronto.
