Coal exports bolster railroad’s income

Frontiersman.com

ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Railroad Corp.’s 2011 annual report shows net income of $13.4 million on total revenues of $185.7 million.

Part of this success comes from a more diversified customer base. Despite a decline in some legacy lines of business, freight train revenue increased 12.7 percent thanks to expanded coal exports and a 3 percent volume increase in interline (barge-rail) railcar traffic from Seattle and Canada.

Likewise, passenger revenue rose by 7.7 percent as ridership grew from 405,000 in 2010 to 413,000 in 2011. Beyond train operations, the railroad real estate leasing and permitting provided reliable net income of $8.5 million, which remains crucial to meeting the railroad’s mandate to remain self-sufficient.

The railroad continued to meet its mandate to support statewide economic development with strong partnerships that moved two major rail extension projects from the environmental phase into design and construction.

The Northern Rail Extension, supported by state and federal funding, began construction on Phase One, a bridge over the Tanana River at Salcha.

And in Southcentral, the Port MacKenzie Rail Extension, funded by the state of Alaska, began final design, permitting and land acquisition in 2011.

Both projects hold tremendous potential for new commerce.

For more information, the report is online at tinyurl.com/cat9b9q.