I took a 12-hour Amtrak train from New York City to Montreal. These 8 things surprised me about my first train ride to Canada.
- In April, Amtrak fully reopened its Adirondack line, which runs from New York City to Montreal.
- To commemorate its post-pandemic reopening, I booked a seat in coach for the 12-hour ride.
Earlier this year, I became something of a train fanatic when I rode an Amtrak train across the country from Montana to New York City.
While I'd taken short train trips in the States before, it wasn't until my 57-hour trip in January that I had really considered rail travel as a viable form of getting around — and after that, I was hooked. So when Amtrak reinstated its Adirondack line from New York City to Montreal on April 3, I was eager to snap up a ticket.
With one transcontinental journey under my belt, I felt pretty certain I knew what to expect from the 12-hour ride. But from the minute I arrived at Penn Station's Moynihan Train Hall, I found that the trip to Montreal would differ from my domestic ride in several ways.
Right off the bat, I was surprised to learn that passengers heading to Canada needed a physical ticket to board.
This is the first and most important thing I learned as I arrived at the train station, and I only figured it out through a stroke of luck. With 45 minutes to spare before my train departed, I headed to a seating area reserved for ticketed passengers.
As I showed the employee the e-ticket that was emailed to me, he told me I'd need a paper ticket, directing me to a help center across the station.
If he hadn't informed me, I wouldn't have known until I tried to board with the ticket on my phone — at which point it may have been too late.
Because my final stop was Montreal, I had to check in before boarding.
During my train ride from Montana to New York City earlier this year, there was no need to check in before boarding; I just showed up and walked onto the platform when the train arrived.
On Amtrak's Adirondack line, it appeared that passengers staying in the States didn't have to check in, either. For those of us crossing the border, however, we had to present our passport and paper ticket, which was stamped with bright red letters stating our final destination: Canada.
Passengers had to tag each of their bags, even the little ones.
I was traveling with my Patagonia duffel, a small tote bag, and a fanny pack.
Though it felt pretty standard to have to tag my larger bags, I was surprised I had to wrap a tag around my fanny pack, which would stay on my chest for much of the ride.
The boarding process itself was more organized than other trains I've taken.
After having my ticket stamped and my passport checked, I was instructed to stand in another single-file line to wait until boarding time. Along with several other Canada-bound passengers, I waited until an attendant instructed us to begin walking toward the train.
When it was time to board, we began walking together through the train station like a kindergarten class on its way to a field trip. The rigidity of the process felt unusual and unlike my previous train ride, but I didn't mind the level of order and organization.
The train staff was entirely no nonsense.
As travelers settled into their seats and stowed their luggage, an employee walked the aisles announcing the rules we'd be beholden to for the next 12 hours.
He hammered the importance of keeping the bathrooms clean over the next half-day, imploring us to remember it's a shared space. We also got the rundown on the cafe cart regulations: no laptops, no group gatherings or meetings, and absolutely no outside food.
This varied from my experience on trains from Montana to New York City; on my first trip, there were no pre-departure lectures, and the dining cart rules were far less restrictive — I spent several meals working from my laptop while at the table.
Perhaps because of the bathroom lecture, the train's restrooms stayed pretty clean throughout the journey.
As with any space shared with dozens of people, train bathrooms — just like airplane bathrooms — tend to get messy.
Whether it's water all over the floor, overflowing trash cans, or a mess on the toilet seat, dirty restrooms feel like a natural part of travel. For the most part, however, the Amtrak train's bathroom appeared neat.
Toward the end of the ride, the bathroom became more disheveled, with some paper towels spilling out of the trash can. Other than that, I thought it was a relatively clean space, well cared for by its many users.
This trip was my first in Amtrak's coach seating, and I was impressed by the size of the seats.
Because my first long-haul train ride was in one of Amtrak's private roomettes — a roughly 20-square-foot space designed for two passengers — I wasn't sure what to expect regarding coach seats.
Amtrak's website describes its coach section as having "large spacious seats with ample leg room and no middle seat" — but how great could they really be?
As it turns out, they were better than I expected.
Though smaller and less private than Amtrak's roomettes, the seats were still impressively large. With great leg room and a pop-up leg rest, the seats outstripped airlines' coach chairs by a wide margin.
I was equally amazed that the person in front of me could recline their seat without invading my space too much, a feat that seems more and more like a rarity.
I was surprised by how antsy I got by the end of the 12-hour trip.
After I rode in Amtrak's roomette, I gushed about it being an introvert's paradise and raved about never getting bored. While I still found ways to beat boredom on the train to Montreal, it was far more difficult to truly relax in coach than in a private room.
In the roomette, I could pull the chair into a bed to take longer, more restful naps than sitting upright in a coach seat. I also think I was on edge for much of the journey, startled by people coming on and off the train, or rustled awake by passengers moving around the car.
By the time we rolled into Montreal's Gare Centrale, I was itching to get off the train; even though it was a worthwhile adventure, it was certainly exhausting, and I couldn't wait to get out.
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