Railroad At a Glance ORGANIZATION FINANCIAL History, Ownership & Operation Financial totals for 2020 are audited as of April 1, 2021 2020 Assets: $1.06 billion Federal government built the railroad 1914 -1923 in order to open the territory to development. 2020 Revenue: $150.67 million (including $53.3 million in grant revenue) State purchased railroad in 1985 for $22.3 million. 2020 Net Loss: -$7.8 million Independent corporation managed by a 7-member board of directors appointed by the governor. 2021 Budgeted Net Income: $1.8 million State law mandates self-sustaining operations and Railroading is capital-intensive, requiring substantial responsibility for financial and legal obligations. annual investment to adequately maintain equipment and infrastructure. Revenue in excess of expense (net Mission income) is reinvested in capital improvement projects Provide safe, quality transportation and real and infrastructure maintenance programs. estate services. Operate profitably to be self-sustaining. BUSINESS LINES Foster economic development Freight Business (infrastructure and services). Freight: 3.49 million tons in 2019 Assets • 2.8 million tons in 2020 656 total miles of track ARRC hauls natural resources including 737 freight revenue railcars coal, gravel and petroleum products; and 45 passenger railcars commodities including industry chemicals and supplies, dry goods, hazardous mater- 51 locomotives + 2 power cars ials, pipe, lumber, heavy equipment and Yards: Seward, Anchorage, specialty items. ARRC offers seamless Whittier, Fairbanks freight service between shipping points in Employees the Lower 48 to many Alaska destinations. Not part of state personnel Crucial to this link is Alaska Rail Marine, a system. rail-barge operating between Seattle and 2020 Benefits & Wages: Whittier. Barges also move rail shipments $70.5 million to/from Alaska via Prince Rupert, inter- Year-round: 589 Seasonal: 97 changing with Canadian National Railway. Average Age: 43.6 Ave Years of Svc: 10 Passenger Business Male: 563 (82.1%) Female: 123 (17.9%) Passengers: 522,101 in 2019 • 32,069 in 2020 Veterans: 115 (17%) Resident Hire: 90+% The Alaska Railroad offers year-round regularly- Union represented: 491 (72%) scheduled rail transportation. From mid-May to mid- • AFGE/Alaska Railroad Workers 260 September, trains run daily between Anchorage and • Alaska Train Dispatchers Association 9 Seward, Anchorage and Whittier, Anchorage and De- • TCU/Brotherhood Railway Carmen 42 nali/Fairbanks. During winter months (mid-September • International Brotherhood of Teamsters 57 to mid-May), trains operate between Anchorage and June 15 • United Transportation Union 123 Fairbanks primarily on weekends. 2021 Real Estate Business ARRC prioritizes programs benefitting youth / education: Real estate holdings: approximately 36,000 acres: • Discounts for school groups during the school year. 38% (~14,000 acres) for track bed and right-of-way • Provides in-kind donations, coordinates employee volun- 3% (~1,000 acres) for other railroad operations (rail yards) teers and supports educational activities as a business partner with schools in Anchorage and Salcha. remaining 59% for long-term lease or permit use • Since 1981, ARRC has partnered with school districts to RAILROAD CONTRIBUTIONS offer a vocational program to train high school students to serve as hosts onboard summer passenger trains. Transportation Link The Alaska Railroad also supports the military community: Alaska’s transportation infrastructure is sparse with 640 • In-kind rail travel donations to the Armed Services square miles of land for every mile of paved road. Only 20% YMCA “Y on Rail” program. of Alaska’s roads are paved versus 91% average for the other • In-kind donations to support military morale activities. 49 states. Many places in Alaska have no road access and • 20% discount for active duty military members, retirees are accessible only by air, ferry or rail. and their dependents. Based on 522,101 rail passengers in 2019 (a typical year) and an industry average of 36 passengers per motorcoach, Environmental Stewardship the Alaska Railroad keeps about 14,500 motorcoaches off Green Star: ARRC is a long-time member of Green Star, a single-lane highways during a typical year, decreasing safety pro-business, pro-environment program recognizing organi- and road maintenance issues. Rail offers low-impact public zations that meet specific standards for waste reduction, transport to public land treasures like Denali National Park pollution prevention, recycling and energy conservation. In 2011, Green Star presented ARRC with its inaugural Super and Chugach National Forest, allowing people of all physical Nova award for setting high environmental standards. abilities safe access to wilderness. Recycling: The Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recy- Denali National Park: In 2019, 104,372 (17%, or about cling (ALPAR) organization has twice honored ARRC with one in six) of the park’s estimated 601,152 visitors arrived ALPAR awards (2006 and 2011) for supporting backhaul by train. In 2020: trains delivered 3,516 (6.4%) of the of recyclable materials. ARRC has repeatedly donated park’s 54,850 visitors. gondolas to haul scrap metal out of rural communities Chugach Forest: In 2019, 47,613 people (9,437 in 2020) along the Yukon River, and transported truck trailers that rode the Glacier Discovery train into forest areas; and backhaul materials for recycle in the Lower 48. in 2019, 14,261 people (3,313 in 2020) experienced the Freight Impacts: Rail mitigates highway congestion and forest’s Whistle Stops south of Portage. safety issues, reduces roadway wear and lowers emis- ARRC subsidizes essential public transportation services sions. On average, one freight train can carry the load of to roadless areas where thousands of people live and recre- 280+ trucks. ARRC carried the equivalent freight of over ate. This includes the year-round Hurricane Turn flagstop ser- 253,000 trucks in 2019 or nearly 155,000 trucks in 2020: vice and the Anchorage-Fairbanks winter (October through • In 2020, ARRC transported 22,942 hopper and tanker April) Aurora train service. railcars (gravel, coal and petroleum), from mines or Community Involvement facilities to various distribution points. This equates to about 154,972 trucks traveling 17 million highway miles. The railroad operates through 13 municipalities and bor- • In 2020, ARRC carried 18,444 cargo-filled trailers and oughs. ARRC is a member of the state and local chambers containers on trains moving from Anchorage, Seward of commerce along the railbelt, and a supporter/sponsor and Whittier ports to distribution points all along the of dozens of civic organizations that promote economic railroad. This equals 36,888 truck movements. growth and commerce, ranging from tourism to mining. Fuel Efficiency:According to the American Association of ARRC enhances the quality of life for Alaskans around the Railroads, a freight train moves a ton of freight an average state with annual in-kind donations of rail transportation of 484 miles on a single gallon of fuel. Thanks to locomo- services valued at just over $1 million. Each year, ARRC tive and technology improvements, railroad fuel efficiency supports about 400 charitable and civic non-profits with is up 106% since 1980. According to a study commissioned rail tickets, posters/prints, used ties, chartered use of the by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), railroads on historic Denali Car, and other in-kind donations. average are four times more fuel-efficient than trucks.