Passenger Trains > 2 hrs, 10 minutes at US Customs for 68 today

With all the information they are given about the passengers, the Kustoms Klowns are taking 2 hours what was accomplished in 40 minutes 15 years ago. Under the veiled excuse of thoroughness and vigilance, they are nothing more than procrastinators on a power trip.

This is the bunch, and/or CBSA, that forbade Amtrak from running a business-dinette on the Adirondack since they want the ability to clear the entire car for interviews. Amtrak naturally bent over and complied. What they should have done is gather up the local Congressional delegation, NY governor (who pays for the train), Quebec Premier, Amtrak Pres, Chairman, and let them challenge these glorified meter maids on the spot.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/11 10:33 by joemvcnj.

That is more than the time it took for a much longer train to enter or leave the Soviet Union (including changing the gauge). Crossing the Iron Curtain was usually accomplished in a few minutes.

The Adirondack crossing has been an issue for years, even before 9/11. Very thorough inspection, based on my several southbound trips.

In fairness, there's always something. On one trip, a New Zealand family was returning from a short stay in Montreal. Since they had a one time entry into the US, which had been used, two of the inspectors wanted to deport them / deny them entry. Much discussion. Phone calls. More discussion. They finally agreed to allow the family (two adults, two kids under 5, etc) to re-enter the US.

Another trip, the Customs inspector hassled a kid who was obviously sleeping off a monumental bender. Multiple questions about where he was going, searched his one bag, etc. Didn't find anything. He finally suggested they should be working along the Rio Grande, stopping wetbacks and drug dealers. That was right before they handcuffed him, and hauled him off the train. Where he remained as we chugged off.

NY doesn't seem to have an interest in monitoring this process, and hasn't for years.

Customs had a mainfest with citizenship, passport number, and birth date before that train left Montreal. If the Aussies used their 1 visa, back they go. Customs knew exactly what was coming and there is no need to spend 2 hours playing Double-Jeopardy.

The "oh, no, the Towers Fell Down" mentality back there has resulted in such absurdities as a closed border where one town straddles the border...where families have lived on both sides for decades. Want to take a pound cake to your Mom on the other side? Used to walk there with it? FORGETABOUTIT.

The border even cuts the public library in two.

Sounds like Derby Line or Beebe Plain, VT?

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Customs had a mainfest with citizenship, passport
> number, and birth date before that train left
> Montreal. If the Aussies used their 1 visa, back
> they go. Customs knew exactly what was coming and
> there is no need to spend 2 hours playing
> Double-Jeopardy.


Actually, they would be the "Kiwies" :))

Also....isn't New Zealand in a visa-waiver agreement with the US? And probably has been for a while?

Derby Line, VT it is. And according to Google Maps, the US-Canada border now has some "wiggles" added to it through town so that the border no longer bisects the library (now entirely within the USA) or splits other streets. But I can see where people in different parts of the community can be frustrated by what used to be "free" crossings that now must go through a (possibly) long custom wait.

Has anyone been there in person? Is there a Berlin-type wall constructed between the USA and Canada through the community?

My Gawd!!..Back in 1954, rode the Soo-Dominion from Vancouver, BC
to Minneapolis. Cut off the main line of CPR throught Moose Jaw
to North Portal, Sask. Thence to USA through Portal, ND..
total time at Portal ND Port of Entry..15 minutes..Jeez, now daze??

So how long does it take to clear the train entering Canada? In Vancouver, you clear at the station and depending on how fast you get to the head of the line, it takes about 2 minutes. Back in January when we were bused in place of the train north bound, Canadian Customs cleared our full bus in less than a half hour. Wonder how long that took on the return trip?

ChS7-321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Customs had a mainfest with citizenship,
> passport
> > number, and birth date before that train left
> > Montreal. If the Aussies used their 1 visa,
> back
> > they go. Customs knew exactly what was coming
> and
> > there is no need to spend 2 hours playing
> > Double-Jeopardy.
>
>
> Actually, they would be the "Kiwies" :))
>
> Also....isn't New Zealand in a visa-waiver
> agreement with the US? And probably has been for
> a while?


This was in the 1980s, so it's possible that the rules have changed. And, we're making the assumption the family was composed entirely of New Zealand citizens. Had they been temporary residents in NZ, US law could likely have required them to have a visa if their country of citizenship required a visa to the US.

Customs and immigration policy seems to have a high degree of inspector discretion. Always has.

I rode the GNs Winnipeg Limited from Winnipeg to St. Paul in the 1960s, and the (single ) US inspector boarded the train in Winnipeg and was finished by the time the train reached the border; there was no delay. Much the same on the GN Internationals to and from Vancouver. The NYC trains that cut north of Lake Ontario carried inspectors, but only those getting on or off in Canada were inspected; again no delay. Things have changed: as Europe has become more open we have become more closed. To be sure, it was a little more rigorous on the through sleeper from St. Louis to Mexico City, where on the US side passengers had to detrain with their baggage (all removed from the train by the Pullman porter), but even this stop took only half an hour.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/11 15:34 by Ptolemy.

Back in the 1960s, there weren't any metal detectors at airports, either. All the folks seeking free passage to Havana cured that.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ChS7-321 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----

> This was in the 1980s, so it's possible that the
> rules have changed. And, we're making the
> assumption the family was composed entirely of New
> Zealand citizens. Had they been temporary
> residents in NZ, US law could likely have required
> them to have a visa if their country of
> citizenship required a visa to the US.
>
> Customs and immigration policy seems to have a
> high degree of inspector discretion. Always has.

I believe the last time I visited New Zealand in the 1970s I needed a visa as a US citizen -- same for Australia then.

The relations between adjacent towns on either side of the border in upper New York State have been pretty amicable since the days of the Fenian Invasion, even to the extent that there is mutual fire fighting support. Well, a couple of years ago, a restaurant in Rouses Point (NY side) caught fire, and the fire department from Lacolle (Quebec side) responded as they always had done. Unlike all of their previous responses over the years, they were held up at the border for a whole slew of personal ID and fire truck paperwork issues. The restaurant burned to the ground in the meantime. I heard people in the area were pretty upset about it at the time, but I don't know if anything has improved since then.

Ray

/2 hours 10 minutes? Takes me that long in a car on summer weekends.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/11 16:19 by Ray_Murphy.

Remember that the through Chicago-Toronto service collapsed because of Customs and Immigration opposition: at the end they were forcing people to get off the train and take the bus across the border while the train went across empty.

Ptolemy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Remember that the through Chicago-Toronto service
> collapsed because of Customs and Immigration
> opposition: at the end they were forcing people to
> get off the train and take the bus across the
> border while the train went across empty.

In the Rouses Point train inspection, the Customs and Border Patrol people used to come over from the highway checkpoint for the train inspection. They'd do the inspection, have lunch, and go back to work on the highway crossing. It's possible the negative incentive (the longer we work on the train, the less we have to do on the highway) comes into play. Doing a thorough, very thorough, train inspection means hiring more people for the location and fewer chances of layoffs.

Or, maybe not...

>I believe the last time I visited New Zealand in the 1970s I needed a visa as a US citizen -- same for Australia then.

For US citizens, New Zealand doesn't require a visa. However, you have to pay a $25NZ fee to exit the country. Australia requires an ETA (electronic travel authority) to enter, which you have to get on-line before leaving the US (there are provisions for getting a paper one in person). It requires a $20US fee and is essentially a visa.

And /don't/ call a Kiwi an "Australian"; you'll get a flat nose. Don't call either of then English, or you're other nose will be flattened too. There's a great deal of difference between an Aussie accent and a Kiwi one, and both of them think American accents are, , , well, never mind.

And I thought hearin' stories of 48 and 49 always havin' unexpected stops by customs were bad, and I know that fire department was not happy with their response bein' delayed because of that, and i bet that was the nearest station! This crap is really gettin' out of hand!

All things considered, It is time for a Schengen-type open border agreement between the USA and Canada. We won't see that in our lifetimes, though.

Mark