Connections at Windsor

I was pondering whether a Chicago to Toronto trip is doable, with connection from Detroit to Windsor by a shuttle or taxi etc., to VIA.

Checking Amtrak's Michigan service schedules and VIA's Windsor - Toronto timetables, there is a " window " available to make connections.

Has anyone done this connection recently ?

My other alternative would be Amtrak's Lakeshore Ltd. to Buffalo ( or to Syracuse ) and connect with the Toronto bound Maple Leaf.......however, I do not admire that option because of the long layover involved.

( I Miss the International. )

I miss the International too. While I haven't made the Detroit-Windsor connection myself, many folks do it. The cost for a taxi between the Amtrak and VIA stations could be almost as much as the train fare between Chicago and Detroit or Windsor and Toronto. If you're lucky, you may be able to find fellow passengers making the same connection to split the cost.

If you don't have a lot of luggage to haul around, you could save a lot of $$ by taking municipal transit. It does mean three separate buses however: Amtrak station-D/W tunnel, cross border tunnel bus, D/W tunnel-VIA station.

A Toronto friend of mine takes The Lakeshore between Buffalo and Chicago (and sometimes between Buffalo and New York City.) Getting to and from Buffalo is the tricky part. He has no interest in taking The Maple Leaf, so he takes VIA's local service to and from Niagara Falls and a taxi or limousine between there and Buffalo. Yes, I know it's eccentric and not for the budget-minded. Returning to Toronto from the US can only be done conveniently on week-ends when VIA's early morning train doesn't run and operates instead at 2:15 p.m.