Alaska Railroad

Alaska Railroad
An Alaska Railroad passenger excursion train at Spencer Glacier.
An Alaska Railroad passenger excursion train at Spencer Glacier.
Overview
OwnerState of Alaska
LocaleAlaska
Websitealaskarailroad.com
Service
TypeFreight and passenger railroad
Services5
Daily ridership200 (weekdays, Q4 2023)[1]
Ridership226,000 (2023)[2]
History
Commenced1903 (1903)
Purchase by US GovernmentMarch 12, 1914 (1914-03-12)
CompletedJuly 15, 1923 (1923-07-15)
Transfer to stateJanuary 6, 1985 (1985-01-06)
Technical
Line length470 miles (760 km) (mainline)
Track length656 miles (1,056 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Old gauge3 ft (914 mm) (former Tanana Valley Railroad)
SignallingCentralized traffic control or track warrant control with positive train control[3]
Alaska Railroad Diagram

Delta Junction
Eielson AFB
Airbase
467 mi
752 km
Fairbanks
411 mi
661 km
Nenana
Clear SFS
Airbase
358 mi
576 km
Healy
348 mi
560 km
Denali
284 mi
457 km
284 mi
457 km
Hurricane
274 mi
441 km
Chulitna
270 mi
435 km
Twin Bridges
268 mi
431 km
Canyon
263 mi
423 km
Gold Creek
258 mi
415 km
Sherman
248.7 mi
400.2 km
Deadhorse
248.5 mi
399.9 km
Curry
236 mi
380 km
Chase
227 mi
365 km
Talkeetna
160 mi
257 km
Wasilla
Palmer
Port of Anchorage
114 mi
183 km
Anchorage
Anchorage Int'l Airport
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
101 mi
163 km
75 mi
121 km
Girdwood
64 mi
103 km
Portage
52 mi
84 km
Whittier
Alaska Marine Highway
Alaska-Rail Marine barge
Harbor Island, Seattle
55 mi
89 km
Spencer
45 mi
72 km
Grandview
0 mi
0 km
Seward
Legend
staffed station
stop
flag stop
freight-only depot
ferry
national park/forest
airport
military air base

The Alaska Railroad (reporting mark ARR) is a Class II railroad[4][5] that operates freight and passenger trains in the state of Alaska. The railroad's mainline runs between Seward on the southern coast and Fairbanks, near the center of the state. It passes through Anchorage and Denali National Park, to which 17% of visitors travel by train.

The railroad has 656 miles (1,056 km) of track, including sidings, rail yards and branch lines. The main line between Seward and Fairbanks is over 470 miles (760 km) long. The branch to Whittier conveys freight railcars interchanged with the contiguous United States via rail barges sailing between the Port of Whittier and Harbor Island in Seattle.[6]

Construction of the railroad started in 1903 when the Alaska Central Railroad built a line starting in Seward and extending 50 miles (80 km) north. The Alaska Central went bankrupt in 1907 and was reorganized as the Alaska Northern Railroad Company in 1911, which extended the line another 21 miles (34 km) northward. On March 12, 1914, the U.S. Congress agreed to fund construction and operation of an all-weather railroad from Seward to Fairbanks and purchased the rail line from the financially struggling Alaska Northern.[7]

As the government started building the estimated $35 million railroad, it opened a construction town along Ship Creek, eventually giving rise to Anchorage, now the state's largest city. In 1917, the government purchased the narrow gauge Tanana Valley Railroad, mostly for its railyard in Fairbanks. The railroad was completed on July 15, 1923 with President Warren G. Harding traveling to Alaska to drive a ceremonial golden spike at Nenana. Ownership of the railroad passed from the federal government to the state of Alaska on January 6, 1985.

In 2023, the system had a ridership of 226,000, or about 200 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023. In 2019, the company generated a US$21.6 million profit on revenues of US$203.9 million, holding US$1.1 billion in total assets.[8]

  1. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  3. ^ "Positive Train Control Project Facts" (PDF). Alaska Railroad. February 1, 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  4. ^ "Commuter Rail Safety Study". Office of Safety and Security, Federal Transit Administration, United States Department of Transportation. November 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  5. ^ "FTA-MA-26-0052-04-1 Rails-with-Trails: Lessons Learned". Federal Highway Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Transit Administration; United States Department of Transportation. August 2002. Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  6. ^ "Alaska Railroad: Corporate - Freight Services - Alaska Rail Marine". Alaska Railroad. Archived from the original on 2013-12-21. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Alaska Railroad Corp. Annual Report" (PDF). Alaska Railroad. March 31, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-10-16.