Many have likened Canada’s development to that of its railways that helped unite the burgeoning country from coast to coast. With the driving of the “last spike” in Craigellachie in 1885, the new 4,800 km (3,000 mile) transcontinental railway effectively convinced British Columbians to join Canada, rather than our neighbours to the south. Rocky Mountaineer Vacations (RMV) also has its place in the history books of Canadian rail history for its groundbreaking efforts in turning a failing government owned passenger rail service into a profitable and internationally renowned tourist attraction.

In 1990, the federal government decided to drastically cut VIA Rail’s (Canada’s national passenger train) heavily subsidized operation and privatize the daylight tourist service that was introduced in 1988. In the tough competition that followed, Great Canadian Railtour Company (owners of Rocky Mountaineer Vacations) was awarded the rights to the service. Led by President Peter Armstrong, a select group of former railroad executives and leading tourism experts, gathered to impart 120 years of combined railroad experience onto the newly established company. GCRC drew a visionary plan for the Rocky Mountaineer, a two-day all daylight journey through Canada’s West and the Rocky Mountains.

In late 1994, the Great Canadian Railtour Company (GCRC) contracted Colorado Railcar to build a luxury, bi-level dome coach. The custom built coach was designed to provide panoramic views for up to 72 guests on the upper level with a dining lounge, fully equipped galley and observation platform on the lower level. The popularity of GoldLeaf Service has continued to grow, and today it represents over 50 percent of guest bookings, with 16 GoldLeaf dome coaches in operation. GCRC has also made a large capital investment to upgrade the RedLeaf coaches it purchased from VIA, refurbishing the interiors completely.

Armstrong Group (AG) experienced one of its biggest changes in 2005, replacing GCRC as parent company and acquiring Gray Line West, an already successful motorcoach operation based in Banff, Alberta, and Victoria, British Columbia. The company’s number of direct employees therefore also doubled to over 1100. With all these recent developments, RMV was afforded the opportunity to truly provide seamless guest travel experiences throughout Western Canada. In 2006, RMV was honoured with its most impressive designation - the World Travel Award as the “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train” for the second consecutive year. To be recognized with such a prestigious global award demonstrates that the organization is delivering on its vision of providing the most spectacular experiences in the world.

In May of 2006, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations set its wheels in motion once more with the launch of two new tourist train routes, connecting into a Western Canadian rail network. The highly anticipated Whistler Mountaineer train operates as a daily service for travellers between North Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. and the Fraser Discovery Route, the third route for the Rocky Mountaineer, travels through B.C.’s seldom seen interior from Whistler to Jasper, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies.

In 2007, Armstrong Group acquired Royal Blue Line Motor Tours based in Victoria, British Columbia. Royal Blue Line is well known and highly respected in Victoria for operating a small fleet of six vintage British Double Deckers that are considered the best Britain ever built.

Eighteen years later, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations has grown from a small entrepreneurial dream into one of Canada’s leading tourism providers. The company and its employees consistently strive to leave a lasting impression on its guests and look to providing the very best in Canadian experiences for years to come.