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Luxury, Scenic Train Travel Is On The Rise - Rocky Mountaineer Is Among World's Best

Scenic train travel is experiencing an upsurge in popularity around the world. On the one hand, with so much emphasis being placed on fast, discount travel it's somewhat puzzling. However, as airliners and cruise ships continue to cater to the masses, train travel is niching itself as a less crowded, more personable mode of transportation. In addition to being more exclusive and upscale, trains are also taking people to some of the most unique destinations in India, Peru, Australia, Switzerland, Alaska and Canada.

Rail dining follows its own unique route. For GoldLeaf Service guests aboard Rocky Mountaineer trains, comfortable seats under glass domes in the custom-built coaches are for savoring the scenery. On the boarding level below, meanwhile, private dining room booths are set with crisp white linens, sparkling glassware and fresh flowers.

With the landscape changing at every moment outside the panoramic windows -- from coastal land, to forest preserves, valleys and on to vast mountain ranges -- passengers are served from three-course, a la carte menus. Both a full breakfast and an elaborate mid-day dinner are prepared on board each day.

Executive Chef Mark Jorundson oversees and develops recipes for the Rocky Mountaineer dining rooms, making sure the travelers' menus are linked to the land. His focus always is on serving foods indigenous to the region that the train is passing through, from the fresh wild salmon that spawn in British Columbia's waterways to slow-roasted venison and bison found in Alberta. Wild mushrooms that grow in passing forest land wind up in a marvelous soup.

Chef's focus is on foods local to the region [Staten Island Advance]

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