Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Rocky Mountaineer is delaying the start of its Canadian travel season until June 1, affecting the routes connecting to Jasper.
Tessa Day, communications manager, said 2020 was a challenging year but the luxury train company is forging ahead this year, albeit a bit later than planned.
“Our season was due to commence on April 26 but the global travel and health restrictions forced us to delay the start by around five weeks,” Day said in an email.
“We want to get back to doing what we do best which is welcoming guests on-board our trains and given the advances with COVID-19 vaccines we are optimistic about running our trains in 2021.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Rocky Mountaineer hosted close to 100,000 guests on its trains during its busiest six-month season.
“It’s not clear what impact continuing restrictions could have on our operations so we will continue to assess this developing situation very closely,” Day said.
The pandemic has had a negative impact on the business.
“We were forced to suspend the entire 2020 travel season and now we have to delay the start of the 2021 season,” Day said.
“Not operating in 2020 has meant the business had minimal revenue for the past 17 months and we were forced to lay off, or reduce hours, for close to half of our year-round workforce last year. We also weren’t able to hire the 400 season people we would typically hire for the travel season.”
Despite the challenges, Day said the company is optimistic about the year ahead.
“We recently recalled many team members, including our operations and maintenance team in Kamloops to prepare for the season ahead,” she said.
Part of the preparation is making sure COVID-19 protocols are ready to use for the health and safety of guests and staff.
“We have extensive health screening protocols in place, along with thorough sanitization and disinfection procedures,” Day said, “so guests can be confident and comfortable during their journey with us.”
The trains are equipped with high-end air filtration systems that remove 99.9 per cent of airborne viruses and bacteria and fully circulate the air every three-to-3.5 minutes.
“We have also adjusted our operations, so we can maintain consistent travel groups throughout their journeys with us,” Day said.
In Western Canada, Rocky Mountaineer offers three routes that connect Vancouver to the Canadian Rockies towns of Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper.
“Two of these routes start or end in Jasper, so many of our guests stay in and explore Jasper before or after their train journey,” Day said.
