Focus on: Rocky Mountaineer

Rocky Mountaineer is rolling out new Goldleaf carriages, designed to enhance the onboard experience for both passengers and staff. Benjamin Coren discovers more

Rocky Mountaineer invited its partners out to Stadler’s factory in Berlin to showcase innovations being made for its latest Goldleaf dome coaches.

Ten new bespoke bi-level coaches are being manufactured for the Canadian rail operator's fleet, with new deliveries expected to commence in 2018.

The onboard enhancements may not necessarily be obvious to passenger but are designed to enable staff to provide a more consistent onboard experience. They include more efficient toilets and dishwashers, better ovens that can steam and control moisture, enhanced air conditioning and electrically darkening panoramic windows on the upper decks controlled by staff.

The technical upgrades aim to enhance the journey for both passengers and staff onboard, enabling crew to spend more time focused on providing a quality experience for customers.

Rocky Mountaineer is one of the first companies to add window tinting, previously seen on aircraft, to trains. It will be trialled on the new carriages and rolled out on older carriages if successful.

Scott Dearin, director asset development for Rocky Mountaineer, said: “Our goal is to ensure we offer a consistent service across the entire fleet. The layout of the new carriages is the same but there is more modern technology onboard.

For example, Stadler designed a new water system from scratch which is more efficient, uses less water and is more reliable.”

The new carriages will be added to the service (as opposed to replacing current ones) bringing the total number of Goldleaf service carriages up to 26.

The carriages are manufactured in Berlin, and the factory operates as an assembly line. The glass comes from France and the trucks are built in Switzerland. The carriages are then shipped to Tacoma in the U.S. where a special train transports them to Canada.

When the carriages are shipped, they are carried in climate-controlled containers to protect them from the sea elements.

The testing process for the new carriages takes around three months. Dearin added: “Trains go to Dresden where they are tested to ensure they meet the requirements of the U.S. certification process. We have to meet Canadian and American requirements along with the requirements of the railways we operate on.” Stadler and Rocky Mountaineer have been working very closely for the last three years to meet and exceed these requirements.

All the new coaches are expected to be in service by 2020, hugely increasing Goldleaf service capacity.

Our goal is to ensure we offer a consistent service across our

entire the fleet