Passenger Trains > Rocky Mountaineer Begins 2024 Rockies to the Red Rocks 24 Apr

Rocky Mountaineer manager Chris Woods (left) with Olivia Lopez and Joey Taylor were on hand to greet passengers at Union Pacific's 36th Street Yard, Denver, CO, 24 April 2024. The 2024 season for Rocky Mountaineer trips has begun.  Two trips per week leave Denver, CO, on Thursdays and Sundays.

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any bagpipes like the ones they use in Vancouver to welcome guests on board there? 

No bagpipes or music at Denver.

swirsk53 Wrote:
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> any bagpipes like the ones they use in Vancouver
> to welcome guests on board there? 

Just curious as to why Rocky Mountaineer uses the UP yard vs. Union Station?  With Ski Train season over there would seem to be an available track.

Dave

Discussions were held but Rocky Mountaineer and Denver RTD Union Station couldn't reach an agreement.  Only two tracks available to Amtrak at Denver Unioni Station.

DavidP Wrote:
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> Just curious as to why Rocky Mountaineer uses the
> UP yard vs. Union Station?  With Ski Train season
> over there would seem to be an available track.

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I've seen videos of the RM going west to Moab, but once there are you on your own to get back to Denver?

one way trips yes

Cumbresfan Wrote:
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> I've seen videos of the RM going west to Moab, but
> once there are you on your own to get back to
> Denver?

Just to add - yes, that's a one-way trip from Denver to Moab, with a overnight stop in Glenwood Springs for passengers, which are put up in hotels. So this is a two day excursion trip. You can book a return from Moab. It's not much different from all the other trips they operate. Just an FYI. 

I am waiting to see when and where Rocky Mountaineer United States Excursion 2.0 will be launched. Presumably Rocky Mountaineer is happy with the Denver to Moab route as this is their fourth year of operation I believe (started season in 2021?). Rocky evaluates the continuance of a route after three years - whether to continue it or pull it. Denver to Grand Canyon anyone??? Rocky could go Denver to Albuquerque via Trinidad, but that would be close to 11 hours at least I think. May have to find a better intermediate stop than Albuquerque....There out there (e.g. Lamy, Santa Fe, Las Vegas via bus)! Then Albuquerque to Grand Canyon - 6 hours roughly on a leisure schedule, I would think. There's definitely capacity on the Raton route for another train. BNSF keeps things moving quite well even on the transcon west of Albuquerque to Grand Canyon. Rocky does some early departures and late arrivals in British Columbia and Alberta as compared to the Denver to Moab route.......Denver is a nice centralized spot to push out another route. The FRA long distance study thought the same! LOL!  

They talked about Vegas , ran a test train from Glenwood, but it never happened, trying to grow the moab train, no extra equipment I would assume, if the moab train did not justify two roundtrips a week they would have had 4 days to run out and back

did the BC circle route and it was 100% wonderful in everyway.......want to do the circle out of denver,,,,,,,arlen