Maple Leaf (train)

File:Whirlpool bridge.jpg, in 1983.]]

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).Streamliner Schedules, "The Ontarian" timetable, plus consists for other NYC trains of the period with routes from and to Toronto http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track6/ontarian196506.htmlNew York Central timetable, November 5, 1967, final timetable with Ontarian By contrast, the modern Maple Leaf was a unified New York City–Toronto train. There was also a New York City–Toronto train named Maple Leaf operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad from 1937 until 1961, a train which traveled through northern New Jersey, northeast Pennsylvania and central New York.

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.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/14/travel/new-york-to-toronto-tra-in.html |title=New York to Toronto Train |last=Malcolm |first=Andrew H. |date=February 14, 1982 |access-date=July 26, 2010 |newspaper=New York Times}} 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.Streamliner Schedules, "The Ontarian" timetable, plus consists for other NYC trains of the period with routes from and to Toronto http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track6/ontarian196506.htmlNew York Central timetable, November 5, 1967, final timetable with Ontarian

An Amtrak crew operates the train in the United States, while a Via Rail crew operates the train in Canada.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IaglAAAAIBAJ&pg=5163,2109370&dq=amtrak+maple-leaf&hl=en |title=Amtrak's new Toronto-NY line fills 10-year void; may be a winner |date=April 28, 1981 |access-date=July 26, 2010 |newspaper=Miami News}} 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.{{rp|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 2013, the Maple Leaf was the target of a failed terror plot involving an attempt by two men, both permanent 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.{{Cite news |url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE93L0YW20130423?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626000840/http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE93L0YW20130423?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 26, 2013 |title=Canada thwarts "al Qaeda-supported" passenger train plot |last1=Rocha |first1=Euan |date=April 22, 2013 |work=Reuters Canada |access-date=April 23, 2013 |last2=Alastair Sharp}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324235304578438973803805096 |title=Canada Thwarts Alleged Plot to Attack Train |last1=Macdonald |first1=Alaistair |date=April 22, 2012 |work=Wall Street Journal |access-date=April 23, 2013 |last2=Siobhan Gorman |last3=David George-Cosh}}{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Amanda |date=January 13, 2014 |url=http://www.niagarathisweek.com/mobile/news/article/4313523/ |title=Jordan train bridge reportedly target of thwarted terror plot |publisher=Niagarathisweek.com |access-date=January 26, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116132034/http://www.niagarathisweek.com/mobile/news/article/4313523/ |archive-date=January 16, 2014}}

In March 2020, the Maple Leaf was truncated to Niagara Falls, New York after all non-essential travel across the Canada–United States border was banned in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite press release |author= |date=March 24, 2020 |title=Service Adjustments Due to Coronavirus|url=https://www.amtrak.com/alert/nec-modified-schedule.html |url-status=live |publisher=Amtrak |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325190328/https://www.amtrak.com/alert/nec-modified-schedule.html |archive-date=March 25, 2020 |access-date=March 25, 2020}}{{Cite news|last=Dickson|first=Jane|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-trump-confirms-canada-us-to-close-border-to-non-essential-travel/|title=Canada-U.S. border to close except for essential supply chains|date=March 18, 2020|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=March 18, 2020}} Via did not provide alternate service on the Canadian side of the border. International service resumed on June 27, 2022.{{Cite web |date=June 27, 2022 |title=International train service returns for customers for the first time since 2020 |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2022/06/amtrak-maple-leaf-travelers-can-now-buy-tickets-to-and-from-toronto-with-service-set-to-resume/ |access-date=June 27, 2022 |publisher=Amtrak |language=en}} The {{lnl|Amtrak|Adirondack}} and Maple Leaf was combined between New York and Albany–Rensselaer beginning November 10, 2024, due to construction work in the East River Tunnels limiting capacity at Penn Station.{{cite press release |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2024/11/empire-service-schedule-changes/ |title=Empire Service Schedule Changes |date=November 1, 2024 |publisher=Amtrak}} This was reversed effective December 2, 2024, through at least March 2025.{{cite press release |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2024/11/governor-hochul-and-amtrak-announce-restoration-of-empire-service-in-time-for-the-holiday-season/ |title=Governor Hochul and Amtrak Announce Restoration of Empire Service in Time for the Holiday Season |publisher=Amtrak |date=November 22, 2024}}

File:Amtrak Locomotive 106 at Mimico GO Station.jpg.]]

Most Maple Leaf trains consist of five or six cars hauled by a locomotive.{{Cite web |title=Amtrak – Maple Leaf |url=http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/mapleleaf.htm |access-date=December 27, 2022 |website=TrainWeb}}

The passenger cars are the Amfleet series built by the Budd Company between the mid-1970s to early-1980s. Most trains include an Amfleet club car which has a combination of Business Class seating with a Café (food service/lounge) and four or five Coach Class cars.

Between New York City and Albany–Rensselaer, trains are pulled by a GE Genesis P32AC-DM dual-mode diesel locomotive at speeds up to {{convert|110|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}. The locomotives operate on third rail electric power in Penn Station and the Empire Connection tunnel and on diesel power for the rest of the route.{{Cite web |last=Vermont Agency of Transportation |author-link=Vermont Agency of Transportation |date=January 2010 |title=Passenger Rail Equipment Options for the Amtrak Vermonter and Ethan Allen Express |url=http://www.leg.state.vt.us/reports/2010ExternalReports/253921.pdf |access-date=December 29, 2014 |website=Vermont Legislature}} Between Albany–Rensselaer and Toronto, traditional diesel-only GE Genesis P42DC locomotives are used, although the P32AC-DM locomotive may occasionally stay on the train all the way to Toronto.

In the coming years all equipment will be replaced with Amtrak Airo trainsets, the railroad's branding of its combination of Siemens Venture passenger cars and a Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotive.{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2022 |title=Introducing Our New Trains: Amtrak Airo |url=https://www.amtrak.com/amtrak-airo |access-date=December 15, 2022 |website=Amtrak |language=en}} The trainsets for the Maple Leaf will have six passenger cars, which will include a cab control car food service area and a mix of 2x2 Coach Class and 2x1 Business Class seating.{{Cite web |title=Amtrak FY 2022–2027 Asset Line Plan |url=https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/businessplanning/Amtrak-Service-Asset-Line-Plans-FY22-27.pdf |access-date=April 11, 2022 |website=Amtrak |page=132}} The car closest to the locomotive will have batteries to supply electricity to traction motors in the locomotive when operating in Penn Station and the Empire Connection tunnel, eliminating the need for third rail propulsion. The arrangement will eliminate the time-consuming locomotive change at Albany–Rensselaer.

All classes of service include complimentary WiFi, an electric outlet (120 V, 60 Hz AC) at each seat, reading lamps, fold-out tray tables. Reservations are required on all trains, tickets may be purchased online, from an agent at some stations, a ticketing machine at most stations, or, at a higher cost, from the conductor on the train.{{Cite web |title=Travel Guide to Train Fares |url=https://www.amtrak.com/planning-booking/tickets-reservations/guide-to-fares.html |access-date=April 8, 2018 |website=Amtrak}}

• Coach Class: 2x2 seating. Passengers self-select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.{{Cite web |title=Reserved Coach Class Seat |url=https://www.amtrak.com/onboard/onboard-accommodations-for-all-your-needs/seating-accommodations/reserved-coach.html |access-date=April 8, 2018 |website=Amtrak}}
• Business Class: 2x1 seating with more legroom than coach. Passengers receive complimentary soft drinks.

File:Amtrak Maple Leaf.svg

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. From New York City to Albany, it runs mostly parallel to the Hudson River (viewable on the left side northbound and the right side southbound). In Canada, the service shares the route of GO Transit's Lakeshore West commuter rail line.

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.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/07/travel/travel-advisory-grand-central-trains-rerouted-to-penn-station.html |title=Travel Advisory; Grand Central Trains Rerouted To Penn Station |date=April 7, 1991 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 7, 2010}}

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, while Via numbers it as 97 southbound and 98 northbound.

Northbound trains leave New York during 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 during 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.

• Cascades
• Montrealer

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{{Commons category|Maple Leaf (train)}}

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• [https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains/ontario-and-quebec/toronto-niagara-falls/train-cars Via Rail Canada – Toronto–Niagara Falls train]

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Category:Amtrak routes

Category:Named passenger trains of Canada

Category:Named passenger trains of Ontario

Category:International named passenger trains

Category:Passenger rail transport in Toronto

Category:Passenger rail transport in Mississauga

Category:Rail transport in Oakville, Ontario

Category:Rail transport in Burlington, Ontario

Category:Passenger rail transport in Hamilton, Ontario

Category:Rail transport in Grimsby, Ontario

Category:Rail transport in the Regional Municipality of Niagara

Category:Passenger rail transportation in New York (state)

Category:Railway services introduced in 1981

Category:1981 establishments in New York (state)