Alaska Railroad Overview

"Let the country make the railroads and the railroads will make the country."
Edward Pease (1767-1856), Promoter of the 1825 Stockton and Darlington Railway

Please note this is not the official Alaska Railroad web site. If you are wanting to book a passenger reservation, seek employment or ship cargo then go to the official Alaska Railroad web site.

The Alaska Railroad is a state owned, for profit corporation and is the last full service railroad in the USA, providing both passenger and freight service.
 

Mailing address:

Alaska Railroad Corporation
P O Box 107500
Anchorage, AK 99510-7500
(907) 265-2300
Physical address:
Alaska Railroad Corporation
327 West Ship Creek Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501
Reservations: 1-800-544-0552

Ticket office:

411 West First Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 265-2494

Organization

Independent corporation owned by State of Alaska
Managed by a seven-member board of directors appointed by the Governor
Mandated to be self-sustaining, responsible for all financial and legal obligations

Alaska Railroad Corporation Executive Staff (as of 1/9/11)

President (CEO): Christopher Aadnesen
VP Transportation and Mechanical: Patrick C Shake
VP Corporate Affairs: Wendy Lindskoog
VP Chief Information and Technology Officer (CIO): Eileen Reilly
VP Finance (CFO): William O'Leary
VP Real Estate and Facilities: Jim Kubitz
VP Business Development: Steve Silverstein
VP Engineering and Chief Engineer: Tom Brooks
VP General Counsel: William Hupprich
Director, Labor Relations: Donald Smith
Director, Safety: Mark Mitchell
Director, Strategic Planning: Bruce Carr
Director of Police & Security & Chief Special Agent: Dan Frerich
 

Vital Statistics (as of 8/26/10):

Total miles of track: 651
Miles of main line: 467
Miles of branch line: 7
Miles of yards and siding: 107
Equipment (see roster):
Locomotives: 53 (counting F40s)
Leased locomotives: None
DMU (self-propelled): 1
Passenger equipment: 47
Private passenger equipment 30
Flint Hills Tank Fleet: 447
Cabooses: 1 (#1092)
FREDs: 30
MOW equipment: 300

Each mile of track requires 3,250 ties and 19,000 spikes. That's 1.625 million ties and 9.5 million

Shops & yards: Anchorage & Fairbanks

Passenger Depots, shelters, stops or scheduled service: Seward, (Grandview), Whittier, Portage, (Girdwood), Anchorage, Wasilla, Talkeetna, Denali Park, (Healy), Nenana & Fairbanks.

Scenic spots: Seward to Anchorage (5 tunnels, glaciers & mountains, Whittier to Portage, Wasilla (Mat-Su valley), Hurricane Gulch, Broad Pass with views of Denali (Mt. McKinley), Riley creek trestle in Denali National Park, Nenana River Gorge between Denali Park and Healy (inaccessible by auto), and Mears Memorial bridge in Nenana (a single span 701 foot steel bridge built in 1923).

Top track speed: 60 mph (The 60 mph speed currently applies only to an eight-mile stretch of track starting from the border between Elmendorf and Fort Richardson, just north of the Davis Hwy crossing, and running north that has been upgraded to continuous welded rail)

Daily average train frequency: In summer, 4 to 6 passenger (plus Portage-Whittier shuttles) and 7 or more freight trains; fewer in winter

Major traffic: Coal, petroleum, sand & gravel, intermodal, passengers and manufactured goods.

Radio Frequencies: 160.305; 160.355; 161.385; 161.415; 161.445; 161.475; 161.505; 161.535; 161.565


 

Current Diesel Locomotive Roster

Unit
Model
 H.P.
Bldr. #
Built
 Acq.
Rebuilt
Comments
31 F-40 . . . 2004 . former Amtrak unit
32 F-40 . . . 2004 . former Amtrak unit
2001 GP38-2 2,000 766008-1 1978 1986 . Ex-Butte, Anaconda & Pacific 108
2002 GP38-2 2,000 786138-1 1978 1986 . Ex-Butte, Anaconda & Pacific 109
2003 GP38-2 2,000 35441 1978 1986 1986 Ex-Conrail/Penn Central 7812; Converted from GP38-2 by National Railway Equipment (NRE)
2004 GP38-2 2,000 35402 1978 1986 1986 Ex-Conrail/Penn Central 7773; Converted from GP38-2 by National Railway Equipment (NRE)
2005 GP38-2 2,000 35381 1978 1986 1986 Ex-Conrail/Penn Central 7752; Converted from GP38-2 by National Railway Equipment (NRE)
2006 GP38-2 2,000 35382 1978 1986 1986 Ex-Conrail/Penn Central 7754; Converted from GP38-2 by National Railway Equipment (NRE)
2007 GP38-2 2,000 35410 1978 1986 1987 Ex-Conrail/Penn Central 7780; Converted from GP38-2 by National Railway Equipment (NRE)
2008 GP38-2 2,000 34714 1978 1986 1987 Ex-Conrail/Penn Central 3250; Converted from GP40 by National Railway Equipment (NRE)
3001 GP40-2 3,000 74759-2 1975 1975 1981 .
3002 GP40-2 3,000 74759-3 1975 1975 1985 .
3003 GP40-2 3,000 74759-4 1975 1975 1986 .
3004 GP40-2 3,000 74759-5 1975 1975 1984 .
3005 GP40-2 3,000 74759-6 1975 1975 1986 .
3006 GP40-2 3,000 74759-1 1975 1975 1982 .
3007 GP40-2 3,000 757143-1 1976 1976 1983 .
3008 GP40-2 3,000 757143-2 1976 1976 1995 .
3009 GP40-2 3,000 757143-3 1976 1976 2001 small auxiliary plants for limited HEP and supplying KFF (keep from freezing) power to certain intermodal cars.
3010 GP40-2 3,000 757143-4 1976 1976 2001 small auxiliary plants for limited HEP and supplying KFF (keep from freezing) power to certain intermodal cars.
3011 GP40-2 3,000 757143-5 1976 1976 2001 small auxiliary plants for limited HEP and supplying KFF (keep from freezing) power to certain intermodal cars.
3012 GP40-H 3,000 777093-1 1978 1978 2001 .
3013 GP40-H 3,000 777093-2 1978 1978 2001 small auxiliary plants for limited HEP and supplying KFF (keep from freezing) power to certain intermodal cars.
3014 GP40-H 3,000 777093-3 1978 1978 2001 small auxiliary plants for limited HEP and supplying KFF (keep from freezing) power to certain intermodal cars.
3015 GP40-H 3,000 777093-4 1978 1978 2001 small auxiliary plants for limited HEP and supplying KFF (keep from freezing) power to certain intermodal cars.
4001 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-1 12/99 2000 . Built in London, Ontario; all other in Altoona, PA; Spirit of Alaska
4002 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-2 12/99 2000 . Spirit of Seward
4003 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-3 12/99 2000 . Spirit of Moose Pass
4004 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-4 01/00 2000 . Spirit of Whittier
4005 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-5 01/00 2000 . Spirit of Girdwood
4006 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-6 01/00 2000 . Spirit of Anchorage
4007 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-7 01/00 2000 . Spirit of Palmer
4008 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-8 02/00 2000 . Spirit of Wasilla
4009 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-9 02/00 2000 . Spirit of Talkeetna
4010 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-10 02/00 2000 . Spirit of Cantwell
4011 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-11 02/00 2000 . Spirit of Denali
4012 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-12 03/00 2000 . Spirit of Healy
4013 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-13 03/00 2000 . Spirit of Nenana
4014 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-14 03/00 2000 . Spirit of Fairbanks
4015 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-15 03/00 2000 . Spirit of North Pole
4016 SD70MAC 4,000 976819-16 03/00 2000 . Spirit of Delta Junction
4317 SD70MAC 4,300 20036536-1 04/04 2004 . HEP equipped
4318 SD70MAC 4,300 20036536-2 04/04 2004 . HEP equipped
4319 SD70MAC 4,300 20036536-3 04/04 2004 . HEP equipped
4320 SD70MAC 4,300 20036536-4 04/04 2004 . HEP equipped
4321 SD70MAC 4,300 20036536-5 04/04 2004 . HEP equipped
4322 SD70MAC 4,300 20036536-6 04/04 2004 . HEP equipped
4323 SD70MAC 4,300 20036536-7 04/04 2004 . HEP equipped
4324 SD70MAC 4,300 20036536-8 04/04 2004 . HEP equipped
4325 SD70M-T1 4,300 20056769-001 07/07 2007   HEP equipped; Tier 1 compliant
4326 SD70M-T1 4,300 20056769-002 07/07 2007   HEP equipped; Tier 1 compliant
4327 SD70M-T1 4,300 20056769-003 07/07 2007   HEP equipped; Tier 1 compliant
4328 SD70M-T1 4,300 20056769-004 07/07 2007   HEP equipped; Tier 1 compliant
1650 GE 80 ton 335 . . . 1998 Owned by Clear AFS; used to move coal at the power plant
1679 GE 80 ton 335 . . . 1998 Owned by Clear AFS; used to move coal at the power plant
4902 GP40-2 3,000 . . . . Owned by Eielson AFB; used for Midgetman "Peacemaker" train.
4903 GP40-2 3,000 . . . . Owned by Eielson AFB; used for Midgetman "Peacemaker" train.

 You'll find the historic Alaska Railroad roster here