The Alaska Railroad track that an avalanche hit last week near Girdwood has been repaired and is back in service, restoring a key link between Alaska’s Railbelt and Lower 48 rail freight.
An Alaska Railroad crew works on track repairs at rail milepost 71.5 near Girdwood on Friday. An avalanche had hit the tracks overnight on Jan. 16, and a freight train hit the debris early on Jan. 17. near Girdwood has been repaired and is back in service, restoring a key link between Alaska’s Railbelt and Lower 48 rail freight. The avalanche happened about four days earlier — some time on the night of Jan. 16.
A derailed Alaska Railroad locomotive rests clear of the tracks at rail milepost 71.5 near Girdwood on Friday. This the third of three locomotives that were derailed by hitting avalanche debris on Jan. 17; the other two had already been rerailed. Crews cleared the snow, got two of the locomotives back on the tracks last week, and moved the third one out of the way. The Alaska Railroad says it plans to rerail it this week, depending on weather and safety conditions.
The rail connection to Whittier is also a connection to Seattle; The Alaska Railroad runs special marine barges with railroad tracks on them that facilitate loading and unloading train cars. About once a week, the barge delivers train cars loaded in Seattle to Whittier. Christy Terry, a spokesperson for the Alaska Railroad, says the barge delivery schedule is already flexible depending on weather, so the effects of delay from the avalanche should be minimal.
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