In the heart of Olympic country, they staged the Great Train Robbery. The plan was hatched quietly two years ago -- and by the time Vancouver figured out what was happening, the black Stetsons of Alberta owned a B.C. train just when the locals needed it most.
By Don Martin, National Post
VANCOUVER -- In the heart of Olympic country, they staged the Great Train Robbery.
The plan was hatched quietly two years ago -- and by the time Vancouver figured out what was happening, the black Stetsons of Alberta owned a B.C. train just when the locals needed it most.
There are two ways for the spectating masses to get from Vancouver to Whistler events during the Games.
Pick your preferred method of transportation from the only two options available:
1. A basic bus.
2. A nice train including a "hospitality car" with an open bar that serves mimosas before the sun comes up and musical entertainment for the three-hour ride home.
No contest, right? Except that the only way to rail it to Whistler for the entire Olympics is if Alberta invites you aboard its shrink-wrapped rolling billboard that holds business VIPs and tourist operators hostage for the six-hour return trip.
The way other governments twist arms for business and tourism purposes here is to invite them to hospitality suites or prime events. Will anybody listen while sports frenzy is going on? Nope.
Alberta's sold out train has become a way to hold the cream of business and tourism as hostage in a venue where they beg to be held captive.
For a province savaged worldwide for dirty oil, this is a clean break from the bad publicity.
And it's a remarkable display of foresight for a gaffe-plagued government to sell an Alberta advantage in a difficult down time for its economy.
Is B.C. upset? Not officially, even though the train is described as "the best idea Vancouver never thought of."
But this train has clearly left the station without B.C.
"As a tourist promotion, we hit it out of the park," Alberta Tourism Minister Cindy Ady told me Wednesday. "But it is a bit like a Coke show and we are setting up a Pepsi stand in the middle of it."
