June 9, 2008 – Sun Peaks, BC – Train travel is alive and well in Canada and skiers and snowboarders visiting Sun Peaks Resort this winter will be able to ride the rails to their ski vacation with VIA Rail Canada.
Effective December 2, 2008, VIA Rail is making schedule changes that will allow passengers traveling to and from Vancouver or Jasper to arrive in Kamloops late evening or early morning and then catch a shuttle to Sun Peaks Resort.
“In the past, the train arrived in Kamloops in the middle of the night, making it difficult for our Sun Peaks guests,” commented Christopher Nicolson, President of Tourism Sun Peaks. “So we are extremely excited about these schedule changes by VIA Rail as they will give our guests an additional transportation option for the ski holiday.”
VIA’s legendary transcontinental train, The Canadian, offers travelers the option of economy (Comfort) or first-class sleeper (Silver & Blue) accommodations. Snacks and beverages can also be purchased on board. No matter the length of your journey, passengers can enjoy the scenery from the large picture windows of their seats or from VIA’s Skyline observation car.
“When you’re traveling to one of the most pristine ski regions of the country, the train allows you to sit back and enjoy some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet,” said Steve Del Bosco, VIA’s chief customer officer “It’s also about making it all easier, safer and more fun. As we say at VIA, leave the driving to us and you’ll never again have to worry about our famously volatile winters playing havoc with your plans.”
Tourism Sun Peaks will be working with the station manager in Kamloops and working to arrange shuttles to transport guests up the mountain to Sun Peaks from the train station once the new schedule takes effect December 2, 2008.
| Westbound | Eastbound | |||
| Train | Jasper to Kamloops | Vancouver to Kamloops | ||
| 1 | 2:30pm – 11:09pm (Departs: Fri/Sun/Tues) |
8:30pm – 06:00am (Departs: Tues/Fri/Sun) |
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| Train | Kamloops to Vancouver | Kamloops to Jasper | ||
| 1 | 11:44pm – 09:42am (Arrives: Sat/Mon/Sat) |
06:35am – 4:00pm (Arrives: Mon/Wed/Sat) |
||
Vancouver-Kamloops is a nighttime transfer
Jasper – Kamloops is mostly daytime
About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada’s national passenger rail service, VIA Rail Canada’s mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost effective passenger transportation services, both in Canada’s business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. VIA serves more than 450 communities with a network of inter-city, transcontinental and regional trains.
For more information on train schedules or to book a trip anywhere in the VIA system, customers can visit VIA’s secure Web site at viarail.ca. Passengers also can book their tickets by calling 1 888 VIA-RAIL (1 888 842-7245), TTY 1 800 268-9503 (hearing impaired), by visiting any VIA station across the country or through their travel agent.
About Sun Peaks
Sun Peaks Resort is a four season destination resort located in the interior of British Columbia near Kamloops. In winter, Sun Peaks is British Columbia’s second largest ski area with three mountains surrounding an intimate ski-in, ski-out village. In other seasons, Sun Peaks offers a diverse range of leisure activities including 18 holes of golf as well as numerous events and festivals. Sun Peaks Resort was the first ski resort in North America and is the only resort in Canada to receive the ISO 14001 designation recognizing the resorts environmental policies and practices. Sun Peaks can be accessed by two airport gateways - Kamloops (45 minutes) and Kelowna (2 1/2 hours) and by car, only a 4 ¼ hour drive separates Sun Peaks and Vancouver, B.C.
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For further information please contact:
| Christopher Nicolson President Tourism Sun Peaks Direct: 250-578-5381 tsppresident@sunpeaksresort.com |
Catherine Kaloutsky Corporate Communications VIA Rail Canada Direct: 416-956-7683 catherine_kaloutsky@viarail.ca |
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