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VIA Rail

lenaitch said:
Do tell how infrared or other tech is deployed at border control points for routine scanning. Infrared would only read the heat emitting from an external surface, which wouldn't be much use from a passing or standing railcar or vehicle and isn't much use if the contraband isn't emitting heat.

Infrared/NVG and other tech are used along border lands for general surveillance and patrol, and x-ray and other scanners are used on individual vehicles at secondary clearance, but I'm not sure why time consuming and intrusive searches or scanning every piece of luggage on a train should be any different that a private vehicle.
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The Washington Post has a pretty good primer of what the U.S uses for their border security, goes into more detail then I ever could. Canada uses a bit of this, but certainly nowhere near as extensive:


Overall my point is, Canada/CBSA does not do a good job at all regarding security checks at the U.S/Canada train crossing. All that's done is a CBSA agent asks a few basic questions, and a drug dog sniffs out the train while everyone is off. There is no scanning of any sort either at an individual level, or full scale train scan of any kind.

The difference is pretty stark compared to traveling even compared to crossing by bus.
 
Amare said:
The Washington Post has a pretty good primer of what the U.S uses for their border security, goes into more detail then I ever could. Canada uses a bit of this, but certainly nowhere near as extensive:


Overall my point is, Canada/CBSA does not do a good job at all regarding security checks at the U.S/Canada train crossing. All that's done is a CBSA agent asks a few basic questions, and a drug dog sniffs out the train while everyone is off. There is no scanning of any sort either at an individual level, or full scale train scan of any kind.

The difference is pretty stark compared to traveling even compared to crossing by bus.
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I doubt that much of that technology you‘ll find at the big border crossings is implemented at the small border crossings. For instance, I count 4 small border crossings between the major ones located at the A15/I-87 (the main Montreal-NYC route) and QC-133/I-89 (the main Montreal-Boston route), all of which presumably still see a multiple of people crossing the border compared to those crossing by train.
B5E52BBA-1DDF-45CB-A6B0-39825049DF78.png

Also, Amtrak/VIA submit a list of all passengers booked ahead of arrival at the border, which I don’t think they do for bus passengers (I once heard the CBPS agent telling the woman sitting next to me that she had an unpaid parking ticket in Montreal). Therefore, I believe that the measures in place are adequate for such a low-volume border-crosding point.

Anyways, for anyone who still wishes to further the discussion about border procedures and how they differ between passengers crossing the border by car, bus or train, please use a more appropriate thread, for instance the one called „General railway discussions“:

General railway discussions

Maybe I'm missing something. I thought the proposal was to use windpower to crack hydrogen from seawater then compress it and ship it to Europe. No natural gas or pipelines needed. Not sure about the seawater bit as salt water is much more corrosive than fresh water, so the electrodes will...
urbantoronto.ca urbantoronto.ca
 
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Northern Light said:
I, for one, don't think your bags (or anyone else's) should be routinely x-rayed when making a train crossing. They aren't when you drive across. The reason for x-raying with planes was the period of time during which hijackings and bombings were moderately prevalent.

I have yet to hear of any attempted hijacking of trains, or any successful bombing of them; I hope and trust that will not change. But we cannot and should not inconvenience thousands of people out of paranoia for a remote risk.



You mean the so-far, White Elephant on the U.S. side that cost obscene sums of money and sees a grand total of 2 trains daily, with the near term prospect of 4?

All for $44M USD in 2010 dollars?

LOL
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Dont forget that the maple leaf also runs twice a day. And there is a plan for all day GO service to Niagara.
 
Bordercollie said:
Dont forget that the maple leaf also runs twice a day. And there is a plan for all day GO service to Niagara.
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Uhh, I said 2 trains per day, that IS the Maple Leaf.

And there are no plans to extend GO trains to the Niagara Falls, NY Station, which is the one being discussed.

Though, that has been requested by U.S. officials, but, as has been pointed out elsewhere, they're are lot of hassles with GO operating in a second country which makes it unlikely in the near-term.
 
Northern Light said:
Uhh, I said 2 trains per day, that IS the Maple Leaf.

And there are no plans to extend GO trains to the Niagara Falls, NY Station, which is the one being discussed.

Though, that has been requested by U.S. officials, but, as has been pointed out elsewhere, they're are lot of hassles with GO operating in a second country which makes it unlikely in the near-term.
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On weekends it's 2 Go trains plus the maple leaf.

Why do you care if they spend the money. It's not your money. It's Niagara Falls money b
 
Bordercollie said:
On weekends it's 2 Go trains plus the maple leaf.

Why do you care if they spend the money. It's not your money. It's Niagara Falls money b
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I'm getting exhausted here.

We're talking about the station in the U.S. There are NO GO Trains!
 
LemonCondo said:
Bu....but..buuttt we want GO trains too guys!

- Mayor of Niagara Falls, New York in 2019

https://dailyhive.com/toronto/niagara-falls-mayor-go-train-new-york-toronto-2019
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Yes, they would like that, but it won't happen in the near term, and they didn't offer any money or regulatory assistance to make it happen.

Bordercollie said:
It would make more sense to extend it to Buffalo.
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Operating GO beyond Ontario means it must become a Federally regulated railway, and would be subject to U.S. regulation as well.

Its not happening any time soon.

There's a lot of hassle involved.

Further, unless the service were literally profitable, one or more U.S. governments would have to subsidize GO on the U.S. side.
 
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Northern Light said:
Yes, they would like that, but it won't happen in the near term, and they didn't offer any money or regulatory assistance to make it happen.



Operating GO beyond Ontario means it must become a Federally regulated railway, and would be subject to U.S. regulation as well.

Its not happening any time soon.

There's a lot of hassle involved.

Further, unless the service were literally profitable, one or more U.S. governments would have to subsidized GO on the U.S. side.
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Just build an Amtrak shuttle from. Buffalo NY to Niagara Falls Station.
 
Bordercollie said:
Just build an Amtrak shuttle from. Buffalo NY to Niagara Falls Station.
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Putting aside that all of this has very little to do with VIA rail per se..............

That is a non-starter.

I do think a market exists for an Amtrak/VIA Buffalo-Toronto shuttle; but it does face the same constraints at GO in respect of crossing the canal; would require pre-clearance customs be attractive.
 
LNahid2000 said:
...the station in the US has other Amtrak trains, not just the Maple Leaf. It's actually 6 trains per day with the Maple Leaf.
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Fair enough to remind me of the Empire service.

Still, the station has vast reams of capacity that go unused.
 
Northern Light said:
Fair enough to remind me of the Empire service.

Still, the station has vast reams of capacity that go unused.
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When the service ramps up it will be put to good use. Plus they can also consolidate the bus terminal with the train station which would be helpful. The bus station is in a dire situation.
 
Bordercollie said:
When the service ramps up it will be put to good use. Plus they can also consolidate the bus terminal with the train station which would be helpful. The bus station is in a dire situation.
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We're talking about the station in New York, you have repeatedly referred to the Canadian station, please stop.
 
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