A German tourist is getting reimbursed after her dream railroad adventure through the Canadian Rockies ended with derailment and disappointment.
Sissy Krick, an international skating judge from Germany, has been to Canada several times. But during her latest trip, she wanted to fulfill her dream of riding the Rocky Mountaineer train through the Rockies to Vancouver.
"I expected a lot because I read a lot about the company and thought that we would be treated like princes and princesses," said Krick.
Krick's Rocky Mountain ride started in Banff. But her dream trip quickly turned into a nightmare, when just a half hour into the adventure officials announced another train's derailment would scuttle the day's journey.
"We're very sorry this happened, but it was a situation that quite honestly was beyond our control," said Ian Robertson, Rocky Mountaineer spokesman.
The German skating judge says she was forced to sit on the train for five-and-a-half hours, then board a hot and stuffy bus bound for Kamloops. Six-and-a-half hours later, she arrived exhausted at her hotel, and found a letter that said Rocky Mountaineer wanted to express its "sincere apologies" and offered passengers "monetary compensation in the amount of $175.00 CAD."
Krick was not impressed with the offer, since the initial cost of the trip was $1,200.
After CTV Consumer Reporter Lynda Steele spoke with Rocky Mountaineer, the company said that even though Krick declined to purchase trip cancellation insurance, they did not want her to go home to Germany unhappy.
"Next time she's in Canada, if she's got time to take the Rocky Mountaineer we would be happy to provide her with two days on the train ... for free," said Robertson.
Rocky Mountaineer is also extending that offer to any of the 516 other passengers whose trip was scuttled by the derailment that day.
CTV News emailed Krick with the good news about her free train trip, and she emailed us back, writing:
"The offer is great, and after all it is a kind of the end of a fairy tale. It would be wonderful to realize my dream, but I cannot see at the moment, when it will be. Canada is not a one day trip. But if it is possible to take the trip next year, than I would be more than happy. Thank you again for your passionate reaction and help. Without you, nothing would have happened."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lynda Steele
