Passenger Trains > Detroit to Windsor ‘Thruway’ Connection

The following link from a National Association of Railroad Passengers Blog says Amtrak and VIA are in discussions about a ‘bus bridge’ between Detroit and Windsor and have agreed to pursue through ticketing. Service could be up and running by the end of 2017.

https://www.narprail.org/news/blog/narps-news-from-the-front-lines-update-on-the-amtrak-via-connection-at-detroit-windsor/

Good  step  1.

CN had a bus between Detroit and Windsor right up until Amtrak and before that….through cars were ferried across the Detroit river over to Windsor where they were attached to trains to continue onto Toronto.

CP trains ran through the Tunnel into the Michigan Central Station in Detroit. You could connect here to Chicago and there were also through cars.

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I'm usually supportive of these types of connections, but this one may not be practicable, given the constraints of crossing the border.

Also not sure anyone really lives in Detroit anymore...abandoned city.

not true Detroit has been going through revial, thks to auto industry rebounding and Qloan

Detroit has several pockets of tech and music industry revival. Lots of places to buy a latte.

Much of the city remains a wretched burned out ghetto, though.

Posted from Android

If Customs deliberates over the bus for 2 hours, will they hold the train ?

reindeerflame Wrote:
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> I'm usually supportive of these types of
> connections, but this one may not be practicable,
> given the constraints of crossing the border.
>
A Windsor City Transit bus loops through downtown Detroi every hour so crossing here can't be too difficult. I realize people will have luggage..but elsewhere...they hold the passenger...not the bus.

Posted from Android

ghCBNS Wrote:
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> reindeerflame Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm usually supportive of these types of
> > connections, but this one may not be
> practicable,
> > given the constraints of crossing the border.
> >
> A Windsor City Transit bus loops through downtown
> Detroi every hour so crossing here can't be too
> difficult. I realize people will have
> luggage..but elsewhere...they hold the
> passenger...not the bus.
>
> Posted from Android


Excellent -- thanks for pointing this out! The Windsor transit service appears to operate every 30 minutes. It is likely mostly used by Canadians, and then mostly by local residents. It might be a bit more complicated to clear people quickly with a diverse crowd, with luggage, from all over the place, including international travelers, but the number of daily users on the Amtrak/VIA connection is unlikely to approach crush loads.

I may be doing this trip, before the end of the year.  Is this Windsor bus the best way to cross the border and actually reach the two stations?  I'd been planning on a taxi.

march_hare Wrote:
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> I may be doing this trip, before the end of the
> year.  Is this Windsor bus the best way to cross
> the border and actually reach the two stations? 
> I'd been planning on a taxi.

Until the dedicated ‘Thruway’ bus is operating….perhaps the best option might be to use the Windsor Transit ‘Tunnel Bus’ You could research the connecting transit busses on each side but just take a taxi from Amtrak to the tunnel bus stop…..then once thru the tunnel…take another taxi to VIA. Saves the hefty taxi surcharge for crossing the border.

http://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/transitwindsor/Routes-and-Schedules/Documents/fall-schedule/tunnel.pdf

When looking at the above bus schedule…..remember catch a southbound bus to Windsor as Canada is south of the US here!!

The International via Port Huron worked just fine, though re-routing off the Stratford line would have been better. It was the behavior of US Customs that killed that service, and they were very bad even before 9/11/01.

The rumor I heard several years later is Amtrak and VIA Rail got very serious in 2001 about thru-routing the current Pontiac trains 350/355 to Windsor and Toronto, and let the International revert to being the Blue Water, but US Customs right after 9/11/01 said NO, and had veto power.

I've done the three bus Amtrak station to VIA station. It worked but was a bit of an adventure with a yelling match between passengers and bus driver on the Detroit Woodward Ave bus and an aggressive, possibly a heroin addict, woman panhandling while I was waiting for the third bus in Windsor. It was a big relief once I was finally on the VIA train with a sandwich from Tim Hortons across the street from the VIA station! A taxi from the Detroit Amtrak station to the tunnel bus might be in order next time.

Just take the Lake Shore between Depew and Chicago and Greyhound/Trentway-Wager to/from Toronto.
Detroit - Windsor is torture.

The clearly superior itinerary is to fly first class to Vancouver and then ride Prestige Class to Toronto.

Posted from Android

reindeerflame Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm usually supportive of these types of
> connections, but this one may not be practicable,
> given the constraints of crossing the border.
>
> Also not sure anyone really lives in Detroit
> anymore...abandoned city.

This Old House on PBS is fixing it up.

STUPID IDEA!!! Run a through train to Toronto from Chicago. Amtrak used to do that. It was called the International. Bus is very low class, demeaning transportation.

Last June I took a bus from Detroit Metro to Windsor to catch a VIA Rail train to Toronto. No trouble at all getting into
Canada and virtually no delay. The Canadien customs people were very experienced at this.

In theory a Thruway connection would also have the ability to send a preclearance passenger manifest to customs, which a city bus would not.

The Adirondack has a list sent to Canadian Customs at La Colle, and the train will STILL sit there for 90 minutes - 2 hours while CBSA procrastinates, deliberates, and featherbeds. Each trip I take, they also throw someone off to be sent back.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/17 17:30 by joemvcnj.