ANCHORAGE — The federal government has freed up $20 million for track upgrades this year along the Alaska Railroad, the Anchorage Daily News reports.
U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens secured the money in the 2002 Department of Transportation budget, and Stevens announced Monday that Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta had released the funds.
“These funds are critical to replacing old rail and rail ties, which will improve safety and further modernize our railroad infrastructure,” Stevens said.
The Anchorage-based Alaska Railroad is a state-owned corporation. It has 611 miles of track, including the main line, spurs, sidings and rail yards, between Seward and Fairbanks.
Railroad spokesman Pat Flynn said the $20 million is the same amount appropriated to the railroad for the 2001 budget year.
This year’s money will pay for a long list of rail improvements, including 32,272 new cross ties, 63,000 feet of rail and a 6,200-foot siding at Curry, north of Talkeetna. The siding will provide an additional place for a train to pull over on the single-track line to let another pass, Flynn said.
All railroads can apply for such funding, administered through the Federal Railroad Administration, he said. Typically, commuter train lines in big urban areas best qualify for the funds, but the Alaska Railroad qualifies because it carries both freight and passengers, Flynn said.
The federal money has been vital for upgrading old track and keeping trains atop the rails, he said.
“Last year was the first year in a while that we had zero derailments related to track conditions,” Flynn said. “We’ve been really attacking this problem seriously, and we’re making great headway.”
Crews are at work on the rail improvements, and typically the railroad hires extra people during the building season, Flynn said.