The Alaska Railroad was originally known as the Alaska Central Railway. It started in Seward in 1904 and was only 50 miles long. It went bankrupt in 1907. In 1914, the federal government agreed to build a railroad spanning 470 miles from Seward to Fairbanks. The estimated cost was $35 million and at the peak of construction 4,500 people were working on the line. Today, the railroad carries more than 500,000 passengers and millions of tons of freight each year.
The Whitepass and Yukon Route Railway was constructed in 1898 to move thousands of prospectors who were flocking to the Yukon in search of gold. During World War II it carried the supplies the U.S. Army needed to build the Alaska Highway. In the 1970s, the railroad was used to carry ore from the Yukon's many mines to the port in Skagway. Yukon's mining industry collapsed in 1982 and the Whitepass and Yukon Route closed its doors.The railroad reopened in 1988 offering day trips to cruise ship passengers. Almost half a million people take the scenic trip from Skagway to Carcross Yukon each year.
The Alaska Railroad is extending its line 100 miles from Fairbanks to Delta Junction. The extension will service Fort Greeley and the Joint Tanana Training Complex. The number of cruise ship passengers in Skagway is declining and the Yukon's mining industry is on the upswing, so Whitepass and Yukon Route officials are meeting with the Yukon Territorial Government to discuss rebuilding the line to Whitehorse.
