Rochester, NY Amtrak Info

[Railroad Bill]

We are planning to take Amtrak to Toronto in order to board ViA Canadian in May. From Cleveland it is a short ride to BUF so we thought we would go on to Rochester and switch to Maple Leaf there. I know the station is fairly new but is there any access to food at the station for the possible 10am to 2pm layover there? Thanks

 

[Bob Dylan]

We are planning to take Amtrak to Toronto in order to board ViA Canadian in May. From Cleveland it is a short ride to BUF so we thought we would go on to Rochester and switch to Maple Leaf there. I know the station is fairly new but is there any access to food at the station for the possible 10am to 2pm layover there? Thanks

Bill, the New Station is right downtown, and there are quite a few Cafes ,Cafes,Restaurants etc to choose from during the layover.

High Falls,close to the Station, is must see, and it's easy to walk around Downtown Rochester, I've done it twice.

,In all honesty, I really prefer doing the layover in Buffalo( catch the Maple Leaf downtown @ the New Exchange Street Station), which is a more interesting and Historic City!( there is City Bus service from Depew Station but it's a long,winding trip, Ride Share is recommended).

Plenty of places to choose from to eat including the Claimed Birthplace of the Buffalo Wings, Anchor Bar.

The tour of City Hall is recommended, the view from the top cant be beat if the Weather is nice!

Google is your friend for both places, you really can't go wrong choosing either for your layover.

 

[Railroad Bill]

We will have quite a bit of luggage. Is there a place in downtown Buffalo Exc St station to store bags? Would prefer to stay around Buffalo but did not want to stay at Depew for 6+hours

 

[PVD]

I haven't been in the new Exchange St Station, but I don't believe there is any luggage facility there, since no trains stopping there have checked bags. Other than the shopping mall, I never found much in Depew myself.

 

[Bob Dylan]

We will have quite a bit of luggage. Is there a place in downtown Buffalo Exc St station to store bags? Would prefer to stay around Buffalo but did not want to stay at Depew for 6+hours

According to Wikipedia the New Exchange Street Station has a Ticket Counter which means there is an Agent and a Kiosk that sells Coffee and Snacks, but no Checked Baggage since all baggage going to Canada has to be on the Train with the passenger..

Every time I've done my layover there the Agent watched my bags ( No Fee but a Tip was in order) while I ate and explored the City before catching the Maple Leaf to Canada.

 

[PVD]

Good info. The new station is a vast improvement over what was there before, but it opened after my last ride to downtown Buffalo. After my NYSAHA meeting, I was continuing on to Colorado for the USA Hockey National Congress, so another board member (lives in Depew) dropped me (and luggage) at the station. The westbound Lake calls very late at night and sitting in Depew I thought cobwebs would grow on me. I should have left my bags at the hotel, stayed downtown, and taken a cab later.