A group of children in Pemberton has been welcoming visitors to their B.C. town for as long as they can remember.
Each time the Rocky Mountaineer train arrives or departs, the children eagerly wait on the platform, saying hello or waving goodbye.
Raiden Kawashima, 12, first became fascinated by trains at a young age and has been welcoming people since he was a few months old.
“I liked being social and talking to other people and meeting new people and getting to know them,” Raiden said.
The group of kids calls themselves the Welcome Committee. For six months of the year, twice a week, every week, they wait for the train to arrive and greet people.
“It’s a little early, it can be cold sometimes, but it’s fun to be with your friends,” Raiden said.
Their tradition has been going strong for more than a decade, but its future is in jeopardy.
Rocky Mountaineer’s Rainforest to Gold Rush route, which travels from North Vancouver to Jasper, runs on a rail line operated by CN Railway. CN plans to discontinue operations on a portion of the rail line between Squamish to 100 Mile House.
In a statement issued last month, Rocky Mountaineer said it “will not operate the Rainforest to Gold Rush route next year and is not currently including it in the schedule for 2028.”
“We would be happy to return to the route if a long-term operator can be found to maintain the rail line,” said Tristan Armstrong, CEO of Armstrong Collective, which operates Rocky Mountaineer.
All of the committee members have matching hats and ambassador name cards with photo identification.
“I see how happy everybody is, and when I miss a day, I just feel like I should have been there,” said 10-year-old Coco Kawashima.
No matter the weather or how early or late, the children are always there waiting with a smile.
“We’ve been doing this for a lot of years, so it’s just going to feel so weird that it’s not going to be here anymore,” Coco said.
Rocky Mountaineer has welcomed more than 250,000 visitors to travel by train through the region since 2006, the company says.
Junko Kawashima, Coco and Raiden’s mother, said one visitor from the U.K. took the time to write a letter to her children after meeting them in Pemberton.
“It was super, like, a big surprise,” Junko said. “Seeing the passengers from around the world could help kids open their eyes to the world.”
For the parents, losing the train and tradition would have a big impact on the community. Sabrina McDermott said the train has been important to her son.
“Having him here to greet everyone has helped with his social anxiety,” McDermott said. “It’s a chance for him to get out and connect with the crew.”
The Welcome Committee started small and has been growing with the community.
“It became a bigger, like, committee, and it’s just like a team working together,” Raiden said.
Kei Uto has been welcoming people since he was two years old and makes the short trip from Whistler to be with the crew.
“It’s sad, it was kind of like a routine now since I’ve been doing it for a while,” Uto said. “We don’t really even get to see each other that often since I’m in Whistler.”
He said anyone can join the committee before the train stops running the route.
“If you want to come out, just come out and greet the train with us.”
