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Next spring we will be taking the Candian from Toronto to Vancouver, one of the great train rides in the world. We would like to take the Maple Leaf to Toronto and connect with the Canadian. The Maple leaf arrives a little past 7:30Pm and the Canadian leaves that night at 10PM.
If for some reason the Maple Leaf is late getting into Toronto, there is a good chance we might miss the train. Does anybody know the on time performance of the Maple leaf? That two hour buffer may not be enough.
Unfortuneatly, that is the only train to Toronto. There is an early morning train on ViaRail from Niagara Falls, Ont, but that wouldn't work for us. We were thinking of taking Greyhound from Buffalo to Tornoto in the afternoon. The bus arrives across the street at the big hotel there, the Royal York?
Anyone had any experience with this connection? The Canadians schedule is changing to a 10PM departure this month. For years it left in the morning. That wasn't a problem..just overnight it in Toronto.
notelvis Member # 3071
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The 'safe' solution if you can spare the time would to begin your trip 24 hours earlier and plan to spend the night in Toronto coming in off the Maple Leaf.
Yes, it's costlier but the peace of mind that comes from not risking the trip of a lifetime to a missed connection on the first day is priceless.
palmland Member # 4344
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I agree with notelvis that a good trip means not having to worry about missed connections. But, why not overnight in Niagara Falls. Certainly a romantic layover location and I'm sure less expensive than a night in Toronto?
yukon11 Member # 2997
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Note that the Canadian has changed its schedule as of Dec 2nd.
The Canadian leaves Toronto and Vancouver on the same days, but instead of 3 days and 3 nights, it is now 3 days and 4 nights in both directions. One benefit is to provide more daylight viewing of the Canadian Rockies:
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Graynt, I have taken the Canadian twice (once in 2007 and once in the 1980s) and can recommend a day's layover in Toronto. Toronto is a city worth exploring.
The Royal York is lovely, convenient (and expensive as all get out). But there are other comfortable hotels in the area.
royaltrain Member # 622
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I would strongly advise that you not attempt a same day connection with The Canadian. I have a friend who lives near the track used by the Maple Leaf, and he tells me that this train is frequently late. The usual reason is customs delays at the border in Niagara Falls. As I live in Toronto I am quite familiar with the Royal York that is directly across the street from Union Station (and has a direct tunnel connection). This hotel can be expensive, but Fairmont (its owner) often have specials that can substantially reduce the cost. Check with the Fairmont website for any special deals. As others have pointed out there are cheaper hotels nearby, but whatever you do, don't even think about trying a same day connection from the Maple Leaf to the Canadian.
sojourner Member # 3134
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Though I have never taken the Maple Leaf all the way to Toronto, several friends of mine have and owing to border crossing delays were quite late getting into Toronto. So, as noted by the others here, I would definitely not attempt a same day connection to the Canadian.
I don't know why, but I thought the Canadian was switching to a 4PM departure (not 10PM). What am I thinking of?
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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The VIA site says The Canadian departs Toronto at 22:00. Not Zulu time, thank goodness.
jp1822 Member # 2596
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The westbound Maple Leaf to Toronto *can* now make a connection with the westbound Canadian, now that it leaves at like 10 p.m., but the Maple Leaf's ontime performance can be extremely random. I've been ontime to arriving between 10 p.m. and midnight.
I have done the bus connection from Buffalo to Toronto and it was pretty seemless. But to do this by train, you'd basically have to be on the Maple Leaf hading westbound, which would likely have similiar results with a border crossing - it can be dicey at best.
You are better off just taking the Maple Leaf up to Toronto the day before, or perhaps take the Adirondack to Montreal, overnight in Montreal and then take a VIA corridor train to Toronto, if you want more "rail passenger experience."
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