Fiona Hughes’ column in The Vancouver Courier describes a trip she took on the Rocky Mountaineer between Vancouver and Whistler during the Olympics when the train had been chartered by the Alberta government as a rolling tourist and business development bureau. Most of the column deals with the lavishness of the trip and the eclectic crowd she meets. However, she says that three of her seat mates for part of the trip were from VIA rail. Which begs the question as to why the Alberta government invited VIA staff to ride the train and why they accepted the offer? Is something in the works vis-a-vis VIA service in Alberta?