Alaska Railroad Restores Service Following Earthquake Repairs

The Alaska Railroad will restore all regularly scheduled freight and passenger services started yesterday, December 4. The announcement came after days of inspections and repairs due to the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit southcentral Alaska November 30.

Following the earthquake, the Alaska Railroad suspended its regular service so that crews could assess any damage done to the nearly 500 miles of tracks. The inspections found several areas that sustained damage and a few that had become impassable, including an area just south of Eklutna Lake and another portion south of the Cheri Lake Road crossing.

After a coordinated effort across the state, the Alaska Railroad determined the network’s tracks, bridges, facilities and railroad systems were safe or had received the necessary repairs to become safe. On the evening of December 3, the first trains successfully drove the whole length of the line, from Anchorage to Fairbanks.

Regularly service resumes today with the line’s freight trains fully operational. The line’s first passenger train following the earthquake will be the Winter Hurricane Turn Train on December 6. Regularly scheduled Holiday Trains and Aurora Winter Trains will run this weekend. Winter and summer services will continue as scheduled. The Alaska Railroad’s ticketing office is now open to help passengers with questions and to rebook or refund tickets canceled due to earthquake repairs.

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