I’ve often wondered what train crews do at a border crossing such as Laredo, TX or Sault Ste Marie, MI? Do they go just across the border and then change crews or do they continue on to a crew change point as they would on a intra-national run? Are passports carried?
Also, can a train crewman who works for a railroad that operates in two nations, such as CP and CN, hold a position in the foreign nation? For example, can a CN employee in the US go to a job in Canada?
I asked my bud KT aboot this. Here is his response. “We have to file an affidavit with the US Immigration and Naturalization service. This is good for three years, or until a policy change. So we are pre-cleared into the US. We are also required to file with Immigration here in Canada. CN will then report us to the US Immigration service and we will run right into your wonderful country, being paid as though we were still in Canada. For now, we do not have to carry passports, but we do have a laminated letter/card called a CanAm pass. We are sometimes asked to show it and our driver’s license by US Immigration people, if they do not know us, or they are on a higher level of alert-(HA!)-we can be in the US for up to 24 hours without penalty. Beyond that, CN reports us and they (US Immigration) allow us to remain in the US until a train is ready for us, and we have proper rest, to return to Canada. As to a CN-US employee wishing to work in Canada, WHY? Seriously, they must file for resident immigrant status and become temporary residents, subject to our (Canadian) laws re: new potential citizens, which everyone not citizens of Canada are under the law. If you are a Canadian wishing to work/live in the US-be prepared to wait and wait and wait.”
We fax a crew list to Canadien immigration , effective Jan 8th our crews will be required to have US passports in order to return to the US. All train crews are required to make customs declarations upon entering either country.
Train crews are treated the same as airline pilots making international flights
It is different at different boarder crossings. It seems like it depends on who’s “cheif customs guy” at each crossing, it’s very inconsistant.
The deepest international train crew I’ve heard of travels 60 miles into the country. CN 383 wich keeps a Canadian crew on after crossing into the US at Port Huron and travels all the way to Detroit on the US side.