Among the four cross-border passenger trains, the cumbersome bus procedure is unique to the International. And that has riled rail advocates and some passengers on both sides of the border.

"The situation of International railway passengers who must cross the border on a bus is illustrative of the anti-rail attitudes of the two administrations," says Harry Gow, who heads Transport 2000, a Canadian advocacy group. "The harassment of rail passengers involves double inconvenience, as they must also carry off and on their baggage for inpection at Port Huron."

Will this have a negative effect on the train, run jointly by Amtrak and VIA. it's not a good situation," says Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

Cross-border ridership of the train is already low. On a typical day, the International averages between eight and 15 cross-border passengers, VIA spokeswoman Ctherine Kaloutsky said.

Passengers aboard trains at the three Amtrak border crossings-Blaine,Wash., and Niagara Falls and Rouses Point, N.Y.- do not have to leave their trains, according to spokespeople for Amtrak and the customs service.

Accounts differ as to why International passengers are bused while those on the Toronto-New York Mple Leaf, for example, are able to remain on the train during the customs inspection at Niagara Falls.

U.s. Customs used to conduct its International inspection at the station in Port Huron, Mich. But since September 11, passengers must grab their luggage and leave the train at Sarnia, Ontario, board a bus and go through customs at the Bluewater Bridge. They reboard the train at Port Huron.

customs officials-who are shoudering an increased burden since the terrorist attacks-attributed the changes to post 9/11 security increases and a lack of resources in Port Huron.

It's because of the security requriements of our alert Level 1, which requries us to do 100 percent inspections," cutoms spokeswoman Cherise Miles said. "We have them bused right now because there's no indoor facility."

customs doesn't want to have passengers waiting in the cold at Port Huron while the inspections are conducted, she explained. They can't stay on the train because, in another post-attack change, the train itself is now searched, Miles Said. "in order for that to be done successfully, we have to get the passengers off," she explained.

Although all rail passengers face increase scrutiny from customs, the procedure is different at the other three passenger train border crossings.

customs has suspended the "rolling inspections" of Cascade Corridor train 763, originating in Vancouver, British Columbia. Inspectors used to board the train at Blaine and remain on board as it ran south to Bellingham Wash. Now the train is held at Blaine for an inpection that lasts around 15 minutes, Miles said. Passengers can remain on the train, she said, because K-9 dogs aid in the search of the cars.

"We don't have a K-9 at every facility...and not in Port Huron," Miles said.

But in Niagara Falls, where customs only occasionally has a K-9 available to search the Maple Leaf, passengers remain on the train, customs officials said. passengers on board the Montreal-New York Adirondack also remain on the train for its inspection at the remote border burg of Rouses Point.

No one from customs could fully explain the apparent discrepancy in the inspections procedures. But VIA's Kaloutsky said customs officials told the railway that a shotage of inspectors was to blame, and that busing passengers was supposed to be temporary measure.

"It's gone on longer than expected," Kalotsky said.

VIA has talked to customs officials about the problem.

"It's a very delicate issue," Kaloutsky said. "We want to ensure that the inconvenience is as minimal as possible. At the same time, we know that the job that customs is doing is important. We remain in contact with them and remain hopeful that the situation will be addressed shortly."

The International inconvenience has angered at least one passenger,who has writtened officials about his experience aboard the November 28 run of the train.

"What worries me most is that on the one hand, the Amtrak operating crew at Port Huron say this has been standard procedure since 11 September, and that we weren't warned that this would happen until about 10 minutes out of Sarnia," wrote the passenger, Norman Wilson of Toronto. "In particular there was no warning on departure from Toronto, nor did the Amtrak sales agent at the 800 number say anything about it when I booked my travel in mid-October...It is inexcusable that travellers aren't warned in advance that they will have to gather all their belongings and schlep off the train for an hour in mid-trip."

Asign at Toronto Union Station advises passengers to be prepared for a customs inspection at the border, but does not warn them them that they will have to board a bus. Announcements are made on board the train between London and Sarnia.

Amtrak and VIA say the time customs inspection is accounted for in the train's 12-hour running time,and that the new procedure doesn't cause substantial delays.