Flying to and from the United States and Canada is fairly easy, depending on your destination.
As we learned from Greyhound leaving Canada permanently, the exceptions were noted for bus travel between the countries: New York City (via Buffalo) to Toronto; New York City and Boston to Montréal; and Seattle to Vancouver.
Taking the train from the United States to Canada offers similar options. The Maple Leaf train runs Toronto-Niagara Falls-Syracuse-Albany-New York City. Amtrak goes New York City to Montréal. The West Coast swing finishes with Seattle to Vancouver.
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One obvious missing area is Chicago via Detroit to Toronto. You can certainly travel by train from Chicago to Detroit and Toronto to Windsor. You can't travel by train from Detroit to Windsor. You used to be able to travel by bus from Chicago to Toronto via Detroit and Windsor; the loss of Greyhound means you can get to Detroit and then use other options to cross into Canada.
The map (above) is designed by the "Amtrak Connects US" plan to connect the Wolverine line from Detroit to Toronto.
The best route to get from Detroit to Windsor involving trains is to get off at Detroit, take a local bus 2.7 miles (4.3 km) to the bus that gets you across the border into Windsor, take a local bus from downtown (no transfers from the Tunnel Bus) to the Via Rail train station 2.2 miles (3.5 km).
Greyhound charged a large amount to cross on the bus but seems like a dream compared to that misadventure.
The Amtrak Connects plan also calls for extending the Vermonter line from St Albans, Vermont to Montréal.
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The one place we hadn't expected help was from the U.S. Congress. The proposed $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill could make that border crossing by train much easier.
One idea is expanding the U.S. border pre-clearance capabilities to rail service. Those who have flown from Canada to the United States know the drill of receiving pre-clearance in a Canadian airport with no delays once you land in the United States.
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You could argue — before Greyhound abandoned Canada — that a bus from Chicago to Toronto was preferable to a train since the bus is cheaper and usually makes better time. While your humble narrator rides buses with ease, there is a significant group of travelers who prefer the train and really have a concern with traveling by bus.
Asking tourists to find transportation from the Detroit train station or Greyhound bus station is a lot for some travelers. The idea of ease with train travel in crossing the border would make a trip to Canada much more tempting.
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As we noted during the Canadian election, there was no talk about what Canada would do with intercity bus travel.
Years ago, I looked into a bus from Fargo, North Dakota to Winnipeg, Manitoba. There was no bus, Greyhound or otherwise. No buses from Montana to Calgary. Buses, trains: let's invest in transportation options between Canada and the United States.
photo credits: Amtrak; Greyhound Canada
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