ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Stand back, wave a white flag and climb aboard: The last regularly scheduled flag stop service in the United States has been spared, reported the Associated Press.
The Alaska Railroad Corp.’s board — considering drastic cuts to its popular but money-losing Hurricane Turn train — relented after a storm of public criticism.
Railroad officials had proposed reducing train service — which stops for people who wave it down along a remote 55-mile stretch of rail — because of the loss of a $4 million coal hauling contract.
But board chairman Johne Binkley sided with outraged local residents who argued the flagstop service is the only practical way through dense wilderness between Talkeetna and Hurricane, 130 miles north of Anchorage.
Binkley told the state-owned railroad to look elsewhere to save money — and the rest of the board agreed Thursday without taking a formal vote.
“I think it was demonstrated by people how unique this is and how special it is to Alaska,” Binkley said at the board’s meeting in Fairbanks. “We want to do everything we can to maintain that.”
According to the railroad’s Web site, passengers are instructed to “stand 25 feet outside the nearest rail with your gear. Wave a large piece of white cloth over your head until the Engineer acknowledges you by sounding the train whistle.”
Binkley said he was influenced by an overwhelming public response to the proposed reductions involving the service, which uses self-propelled diesel railroad cars. But he did not dismiss the possibility of future fare hikes, among the changes being considered.
Operating the flagstop cost $200,000 in 2001, but the railroad made only $64,000 in ticket sales. The proposed cuts would have halved operational costs and brought ticket revenue to $48,000.
People with homes and recreational cabins along the flagstop service flooded the railroad with letters and e-mails urging the board to maintain current service. The railroad also heard from people nationwide requesting reservations on the train or expressing dismay over its proposed decrease in service.
“We’re just asking for reasonable service at reasonable rates,” said Mark Butler, who owns one of the 175 cabins along the route and led a grass-roots effort opposing the changes.
Butler and others suggested the railroad look at ways to better market the service — a delight to tourists who discover it.
“Don’t take the Alaska out of the Alaska Railroad,” Butler said.
Binkley agreed with residents who said reduced service would force them to ride snowmobiles or four-wheelers along the train track.
“It’s a safety issue, really,” Binkley said. “It’s going to force people into trespassing and we don’t want to do that.”