Travelling onboard the Rocky Mountaineer is an unforgettable experience, considered by many to be, the trip of a lifetime. The original two-day, all daylight rail journey recaptures the romance of rail travel as it follows the historic train routes constructed over 100 years ago through Canada’s West and the Canadian Rockies, uniting the country. The entire train ride takes place during daylight hours to ensure guests enjoy every minute of the breathtaking scenery, which includes glacier-fed lakes, majestic mountain ranges and ferocious rivers. On all four RM rail routes, travellers will experience exemplary guest service, for which the company is renowned.

To coincide with the Rocky Mountaineer train arrivals into Kamloops, BC, Rocky Mountaineer owns and operates the 98-room Thompson Hotel and features the entertaining Rhythms on the Rails. This new interactive, Canadian themed dinner theatre production debuts in 2009 and has been created by Oh Canada Eh? Productions. It is about a young songwriter on a quest to write one perfect song while travelling across Canada by train.

The Rocky Mountaineer travels on three routes, travelling in both eastbound and westbound directions. The Yellowhead Route takes guests between the beautiful coastal city of Vancouver, and Rocky Mountain town of Jasper while the Kicking Horse Route is a link from Vancouver to Banff or Calgary. On both routes, guests overnight in historic Kamloops. On the Fraser Discovery Route, travellers experience BC’s Cariboo and Chilcotin regions between Whistler and Jasper with an overnight stay in the quaint town of Quesnel at the end of day one. The two-day all daylight Rocky Mountaineer train travels 1000 kilometres (650 miles). The Whistler Mountaineer train provides a daily, three-hour service between North Vancouver and Whistler travelling northbound in the morning and southbound in the early afternoon. The train excursion covers a distance of 120 kilometres (74 miles).

The Rocky Mountaineer train departs on select days (eastbound and westbound) on both the Yellowhead and Kicking Horse Routes during its season from May to October. On the Fraser Discovery Route, the Rocky Mountaineer departs on different select days while the Whistler Mountaineer train runs northbound and southbound daily. Please see current schedule for specific departures.

All three Rocky Mountaineer rail routes offer two choices of service:

GoldLeaf Service guests enjoy reserved seating in two-storey, glass domed coaches, featuring panoramic views on the upper level and an elegant private dining room on the main level, where specially prepared à la carte breakfasts and lunches are served. Onboard Attendants provide friendly service and informative commentary of the regions through which the train travels.

RedLeaf Service provides guests with assigned, spacious, comfortable reclining seats, large picture windows, and at-your-seat meal service, in a non-smoking, air-conditioned traditional rail coach environment. The trip is highlighted by the individual attention and colourful, interpretative commentary provided by a dedicated Onboard Attendant.

Breathtaking views of the Canadian Rockies along with spectacular sights such as Hell’s gate, the narrowest point on the Fraser River, the Spiral Tunnels, an engineering feat and Mount Robson, which at 3,956.5 m/12,972 feet is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. Rugged canyons, desert landscapes, shimmering lakes, cascading waterfalls and spectacular glaciers inspire even the most discerning of travellers.

Rocky Mountaineer’s rolling stock consists of over 90 pieces of equipment, all of which is stored and maintained at the company’s 22-acre maintenance yard in Kamloops, BC.

Purchased in 2001, and re-manufactured by Alstom in Montreal, Quebec, the nine, GP40-2 models built by General Motors, Rocky Mountaineer locomotives were originally used by Canadian National Rail.

The 33 RedLeaf Service coaches are classically styled railcars built in 1954 by Canadian Car and Foundry and have been refurbished and upgraded a number of times.  The two styles used on the Rocky Mountaineer train consist are the 5700 and 3200 series.  The 16 GoldLeaf dome coaches seat up to 72 guests each, and were custom-built for the Rocky Mountaineer by Colorado Railcar Manufacturing LLC in Fort Lupton, Colorado.  The first dome coach was introduced in 1995.