Alaska Railroad

Alaska Railroad
An Alaska Railroad passenger excursion train at Spencer Glacier.
Overview
Owner	State of Alaska
Locale	Alaska
Website	alaskarailroad.com
Service
Type	Freight and passenger railroad
Services	5
Daily ridership	1,700 (weekdays, Q3 2024)[1]
Ridership	226,000 (2023)[2]
History
Commenced	1903 (1903)
Purchase by US Government	March 12, 1914 (1914-03-12)
Completed	July 15, 1923 (1923-07-15)
Transfer to state	January 6, 1985 (1985-01-06)
Technical
Line length	470 miles (760 km) (mainline)
Track length	656 miles (1,056 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Old gauge	3 ft (914 mm) (former Tanana Valley Railroad)
Signalling	Centralized traffic control or track warrant control with positive train control[3]
Alaska Railroad Diagram Legend Delta Junction Tanana River Bridge Eielson AFB Fort Wainwright 467 mi 752 km Fairbanks Mears Memorial Bridge 411 mi 661 km Nenana Clear SFS Nenana River Usibelli Suntrana Branch 358 mi 576 km Healy Nenana River Healy Power Plant 348 mi 560 km Denali 284 mi 457 km Hurricane Gulch Bridge 284 mi 457 km Hurricane 274 mi 441 km Chulitna 270 mi 435 km Twin Bridges 268 mi 431 km Canyon Susitna River Bridge 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 Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson Port MacKenzie Anchorage Yard Port of Anchorage 114 mi 183 km Anchorage Anchorage Int'l Airport 101 mi 163 km Potter Section House 75 mi 121 km Girdwood 64 mi 103 km Portage Anton Anderson Tunnel 52 mi 84 km Whittier 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 = flag stop This diagram: view talk edit

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 1,700 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. 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]