GUELPH, ON – (April 14, 2008) – Destiny Tours Intl’ Inc., of
Guelph, Ontario is “on track” with another milestone project.
After 9 years of success with its outbound group travel business
the local tour operator has turned its sights inward to help
boost local tourism with the launch of a new Tourist Train.
The Guelph Junction Express™ will offer weekend dinner, brunch
and sightseeing excursions year-round on 17 miles of track owned
by the city’s Guelph Junction Railway between Guelph and Campbellville. Passengers will board the train at John Galt Park
adjacent to the River Run Centre with parking available close by
at the Sleeman Centre.
 Locomotives and crews from the Ontario
Southland Railway will pull the operation’s three 1950s vintage
stainless steel climate controlled railcars down to Guelph
Junction where the entire train will turn around offering
passengers a view of the other side of the route for the return
ride back to town. A typical excursion will run approx 2 hours
and 15 minutes.
“We have put over 3 years of research and
planning into this project and we are excited to be in the final
stages” said John Carroll, Vice President of Destiny Tours.
“With Guelph being the only Municipality in Canada to own a Federally chartered
railway we felt a relaxing train ride and dining experience through the natural
beauty of the Greenbelt would be an ideal attraction that could be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.
We travelled to Quebec, New Brunswick and New Hampshire over
the past few years to inspect various pieces of rail equipment
before finally locating the perfect passenger cars for our
operation in Vermont last year” said Carroll.
 Of the three cars being used in the initial service, two will be configured with
tables and chairs for meal service (provided by Platters
Catering) with the third car retaining its coach seats for
Family Class service, ideal for people who just want to go for a
train ride.
In addition to scheduled biweekly service, special
themed trains will be offer throughout the year such as the
Easter Bunny Express, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving,
Fall Colours, Halloween Murder Mystery and Santa Clause Express
to name a few. The train will also be available for private
family and corporate bookings.
The Guelph Junction Express is due to launch this May with train schedules and online ticket
booking information available soon from the operation’s web site
at www.GuelphJunctionExpress.ca. Tickets can also be purchased
in person 9AM to 5PM Monday to Friday at Destiny Tours’ office
located at 727 Woolwich Street in Guelph.
About Destiny Tours
Destiny Tours has been offering custom tours and travel for
groups, families, couples and individuals since 1999. The
company was honoured in 2001 as the winner of the Guelph
Business Enterprise Centre’s ‘New Business Award’ which was
presented at the Awards of Excellence Gala in June of the same
year. Destiny has escorted hockey fans from all over North
America to such countries as Sweden, Czech Republic, Russia,
Canada, Finland, USA to cheer on Team Canada at the World Junior
Hockey Championships. This past December the company hosted it’s
largest ever group of almost 450 fans back to the Czech Republic
where Canada won Gold for a fourth straight year.
About the Guelph Junction Railway
The Guelph Junction Railway established
in 1884 by a group of Guelph merchants was built as an
alternative to the Grand Trunk Railway (now Canadian National
Railway). Acquired by the City of Guelph a few years after
operations began in 1888, the railway has been owned by the city
since that time. The GJR as it is known is one of only 3
federally chartered railways in Canada next to the Canadian
Pacific and Canadian National.
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For more information contact:
John Carroll
Destiny Tours International Inc.
519-823-9799
john@destinytours.com
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