Leading the way in rail tourism: How Rocky Mountaineer consistently delivers top-tier rail experiences and responds to major climate events
Posted onPassengers on Rocky Mountaineer trains are primed for a rail adventure-of-a-lifetime – where learning and luxury abound in terrain that varies from snow-capped peaks to coastal rainforests to red sandstone.
Since its inaugural two-day trip in 1990, Rocky Mountaineer has welcomed more than two million guests and set records, including for the longest passenger train in Canadian history with 1,323 guests aboard 41 cars.
While scaling new rail tourism heights, Rocky Mountaineer employees continue to push the bounds of providing unique guest experiences.
“We have a schedule with our trains, but we can tailor a lot of the excursions based around what our guests like,” says Court Edeburn, Vice President, Operations at Rocky Mountaineer (RM).
Tours last anywhere between two and sixteen days, crossing through world-renowned national parks like Banff and Jasper and into states like Utah and Colorado.
“Travelling on the road, you miss out on the storytelling and history of the regions,” says Edeburn, adding that train travel allows people to better connect with their surroundings and better appreciate living in the moment.
Each RM journey features hosts, who are world-class storytellers that can answer guest questions and inspire them to return to the communities they pass through.
“Guests go by communities like Revelstoke or Kamloops, and we find they come back to them. They return to experience the regions even more and invest in tourism in those areas,” says Edeburn.
From the crackers guests crunch to the wine they sip during specialty tastings, everything RM does has a story and meaning. Meal services match their environs. And hosts will, for example, point out the vineyard that produced a wine being served as trains pass by.
“It’s a really special moment for our guests to hear and taste the environment they pass through,” says Edeburn. “It makes for a more immersive experience.”
Guests aren’t alone in continuously learning. With Western Canada seeing more intense wildfires in areas their routes pass through, railway employees are on high alert for extreme weather and climate-related events.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve really elevated plans – drafting them well in advance, and also practising them,” Edeburn explains, adding that the team spends time running different scenarios and what to do in case of a forest fire, a landslide, or other emergency.
An on-call team is ready to respond to anything. In the case of the recent Jasper evacuation, Edeburn says the team responded by rapidly putting their plans into action.
Rocky Mountaineer also collaborates closely with partners like communities, hotels, and other railways. RM’s operations centre mirrors the rail traffic control centres of the Class 1s to ensure that there’s always a connection. When events call for fast action, effective lines of communication are critical.
Rocky Mountaineer recently won Favourite Railway at the 2024 Agents’ Choice Awards which, like other awards the company has won, prompted more dreaming bigger.
“We celebrate internally, but then we think, “How can we make it better?” says Edeburn.
Edeburn says each award won, each challenge overcome, each journey safely concluded is an opportunity to grow. Never resting on their laurels, the hospitality team – for instance – spends endless hours researching food trends, reviewing guest comments, and ensuring that employees are happy with their jobs.
“We’re proud to be partners with all of these communities and to continue to offer this wonderful service.”
-30-