Past News Reports
(Yesterday's News is Tomorrow's
History)
Alaska Railroad
Daniel Sheets
March 2007: Train
Strikes Rock, Spills Fuel … An Alaska Railroad freight train struck a large
rock near Girdwood, Alaska on December 3. Girdwood is 38 miles southwest of
Anchorage along the Turnagain Arm waterway and Seward Highway. The 46-car
train was heading north from Whittier to Anchorage, Alaska when it hit the
75-pound rock at 2:30PM. The strike created a four-inch gash in the lead
locomotives' fuel tank causing diesel fuel to leak directly onto the railbed.
By December 8, the railroad had plans to move contaminated
ballast from the spill site to Fairbanks in open dump cars. Once the
contaminated soil was loaded into the cars, it was shipped to Organic
Incineration Technology in Fairbanks for thermal processing. After
excavation and backfilling of the affected railbed was complete, the
railroad resumed normal freight operations between Whittier and Anchorage.
Thanks to Alaska Railroad, Anchorage Daily News and John
Combs
April 2007: GP49s Sold … Former Alaska Railroad GP49s numbered 2801,
2803, 2804, 2806, and 2807 were sold to Helm Leasing in December 2006.
Within a month of the sale, locomotives 2803, 2806, and 2807 were heading to
Whittier, Alaska. At Whittier, the EMD units were loaded onto a barge bound
for Seattle. On January 22, the barge arrived in Seattle where all three
GP49s were unloaded and parked in Seattle's Harbor Island yard then spotted
in Tacoma yard on January 25.
At the time of the sale, the remaining two GP49s, 2801 and
2804, were located at National Railway Equipment's (NRE) Dixmoor, Illinois,
facility and received main alternator repairs. Both locomotives must be
removed from NRE's facility within 30 days of consummation of the sale
unless other terms have been mutually agreed upon by the buyer and NRE.
Diesel Fuel Burned … A few hundred gallons of diesel fuel was
burned in a marshland near Bird Point, on December 16, sending smoke that
was visible from the Seward Highway north of Girdwood into the sky. The fuel
was left over from a spill in early December caused when a locomotive
collided with a boulder on the track, piercing its fuel tank.
The original spill was about 1,200 gallons, spread along a
half-mile area of track. Most of the spill was cleaned up by removing rock
and using absorbent pads. Railroad workers burned fuel that had leached into
surrounding frozen wetlands between the tracks and Turnagain Arm. A barrier
of land protected the ocean water from the spill.
Engine Soot Cleanup … Dozens of boat and automobile owners in
Whittier received an offer from Alaska Railroad to clean up after a
locomotive spewed oily soot. The incident happened on November 22, 2006,
during an extended cold snap in South-Central Alaska. Railroad spokesman Tim
Thompson said the engine had been idling to stay warm and lubricating oil
accumulated in its smokestack. When the engine revved up to move, it sprayed
the oil into a whipping wind that carried it across a parking lot to
Whittier's harbor. There were about 180 boats in the harbor, and many of
them became speckled.
Spur Fuels Coal Ambitions … World War II was under way when
Alaska Railroad built the last rail spur. At that time, the spur was used to
move wartime supplies to and from the deep-water port at Whittier. Today the
possibility that coal located at Healy's Usibelli mine could power Agrium
Corporation's Nikiski fertilizer plant has re-energized discussion of
building a new $200 million rail spur from Willow to Port MacKenzie.
The coal, mined at the Usibelli, would replace the dwindling
supply of natural gas at the Agrium's Nikiski fertilizer plant. To feed the
spur project, three million metric tons of coal per year would ride rail
cars from Healy, and transfer to barges to cross Cook Inlet. Both Usibelli
and Agrium are considering both Port MacKenzie and the Port of Anchorage for
the barge connection. Each port comes with strengths and weaknesses.
The Port of Anchorage has rail service but the
container-oriented port lacks the necessary facilities to move coal to
barges. Now the Matanuska-Susitna Borough's Port MacKenzie lacks rail
service but shipping bulk commodities is its lifeblood, in the form of wood
chips shipped to Asian markets. In addition a spur from Willow to Port
MacKenzie is 30 rail miles shorter compared with Anchorage, according to
Bruce Carr, director of strategic planning for Alaska Railroad.
Initially, Usibelli assumed that the Port of Anchorage was the only option.
A visit in 2006 with Matanuska-Susitna Borough officials revealed some
potential for speeding up the timeline on a new spur, particularly in
establishing a right-of-way for the railroad. Under normal circumstances, it
takes two to three years to get all the permits necessary for a project like
a spur then it would take another two seasons to build the track.
In February 2005, the borough Assembly approved a 40-mile
rail corridor for a future spur. The corridor crosses the Little Susitna
River and runs west of Red Shirt Lake to connect with the existing line near
Willow Creek. Still unanswered, though, is the question of who would pay to
build the new track. Right now, there's little federal funding available.
The borough will investigate state and federal funding sources. A decision
on which port will handle the coal should be made in 2008, with the Nikiski
fertilizer plant startup in 2011 or 2012. If Port MacKenzie is selected,
Agrium would help with financing the rail spur.
2007 Projects … The 2007 Program of Projects started at
Alaska Railroad's Fairbanks depot and is one of four to be held throughout
the state during the month of January. The event will be a chance for the
public to learn more about the Fairbanks rail realignment and other projects
in the area. Also, the open house will update projects specific to the
interior and others affecting the statewide system.
Those projects include realignment of 19 miles of track
between Fairbanks and North Pole; realignment of tracks from the southern
end of Fort Wainwright to the northern end; realignment of tracks out of
downtown Nenana; upgrade the Danby Street intersection at the railroad's
Fairbanks yard; upgrades to improve safety at Healy Canyon; new 80-mile rail
line for freight and possibly passenger service between North Pole and Delta
Junction; new locomotives and rail cars for Alaskan military forces. -Anchorage
Daily News, Alaska Railroad, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and NorthWest Rails
Yahoo Group
May 2007:
Alaska-Canada Rail Link? … In December 2006, a feasibility study was
completed to determine if an Alaska-Canada rail link is economical. Early
estimates indicate there is potential for a rail link, however research
continues on whether it could be self-supporting or not. The final results
from the feasibility are due out later this year. An executive summary on
the data from this study is expected to be presented to Alaska Governor
Sarah Palin and Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie in mid-March.
In the meantime, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks'
Institute of Northern Engineering, researchers use the study's preliminary
estimates to determine that building a 1,110 to 1,200-mile railroad linking
Alaska and Canada may cost between $11 and $13 billion. Whatever the final
cost may be, if the project does move forward, Alaska Railroad would likely
oversee the construction of the Alaska portion of the rail link.
Although Alaska Railroad, according to Governor Palin, is an
important part of the infrastructure in Alaska, a line to Canada is not a
priority for her administration. Palin also pointed out that as the state of
Alaska is evaluating and choosing gas line proposals, if Canada is the
route, it would become more crucial to work with the Canadians on developing
a railbelt to help transport goods and services in the construction of the
gas line.
Along this railbelt, or proposed rail link, from Fairbanks to
the Canadian border there are approximately 600 mineral occurrences (i.e.
sites or deposits where the presence of minerals have been identified and
recorded). In the Yukon Territory there are 2,900 occurrences. All of these
mineral resources could give rise to mining exploration and further rail
operations in the regions. In addition the rail link could provide access to
resources that have the potential to generate $80 to $800 billion for both
Alaska and Canada.
Fairbanks Challenges Rail Project … On February 23, the
Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly formally opposed an Alaska Railroad
project planned for Fort Wainwright Army Post. The project would realign the
railroad in the Fairbanks area to the Army post. During the Assembly
meeting, borough officials suggested that the railroad was failing to
consider the community's long-term needs and the resolution passed, formally
opposing the project, which aims to delay the rail project.
Alaska Railroad hopes to start this project sometime later
this year and move track from the core of Fort Wainwright to the post's
outskirts. The railroad is also researching the plan to improve safety,
decrease travel time, and eliminate road to rail or grade crossing
intersections by realigning almost 20 miles of track in the greater
Fairbanks area. The plan could include building new tracks south of
Fairbanks to allow trains to bypass the city.
Patrick Gamble, Alaska Railroad president, stated that the
railroad has committed money toward community outreach for the southern
bypass option. Gamble also indicated that the railroad is obligated to the
military to move ahead with the Fort Wainwright project, which the
Department of Defense has already committed to help fund. Gamble suggested
the Fairbanks North Star Borough should take its concerns directly to
federal and military authorities funding this project, not Alaska Railroad.
-Alaska Journal of Commerce, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and John Combs
