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AK-WA Connection 2009: Railroad debuts new
recreation access Partnership with Forest Service offers transportation to the
Chugach National Forest for hikers, campers and outdoor enthusiasts By Rose Ragsdale Alaska-Washington Connection
Alaska Railroad has teamed up with the U.S. Forest Service to introduce a new “Whistle Stop Service” to the Chugach National Forest this year.
The partnership between state-owned Alaska Railroad Corp. and the U.S. Forest Service offers the public a distinctive travel and recreational experience found nowhere else in the United States.
The railroad completed the first phase of the project, including opening of the Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop in June. The railroad and the Forest Service dedicated a new self-propelled railcar, the “Chugach Explorer,” to the whistle stop service June 30.
The fuel-efficient all-in-one Chugach Explorer is a bi-level diesel multiple unit that can stop and start in a short distance and has the power to pull two additional railcars. It seats 90 upstairs with 20 seats downstairs and features a galley to support onboard food service. Two additional seats are Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, and both of the railcar’s exits are equipped with a wheelchair lift.
Passengers can board the new DMU train in Anchorage, Girdwood or Portage and travel deep into the Chugach National Forest to remote areas of Alaska that can only be accessed by train.
The railroad acquired the new $5.7 million passenger coach with a federal agency grant in partnership with the Forest Service and the Federal Transit Administration. It is one of about a dozen such railcars in the United States that meet the more stringent federal crash-worthiness design standards required of passenger cars that operate in concert with freight cars.
The Forest Service has applied for another grant to purchase a second unit as a backup for the new service.
More whistle stops The completed project will include a series of 5 whistle stop stations where visitors can disembark the train to take a day or overnight trip into the heart of the Chugach National Forest. Plans call for a connected system of trails linking the different recreation sites and allowing visitors access to lakes, glaciers and high mountain passes.
Other recreation opportunities include guided interpretive hikes along the more developed trail segments as well as opportunities to engage in a variety of outfitted or guided recreation opportunities. Adventure travelers can now step off the train at Spencer Glacier and take a 5.4 kilometer hike to the glacier on their own or opt for a guided 1.5-kilometer hike with a naturalist. Others may choose to go on a guided rafting or canoe trip with Chugach Adventure Guides. Two group campsites also may be reserved.
GoldStar Service expands In May, the railroad also added its popular GoldStar Service to its Coastal Classic passenger train service that travels between Anchorage and Seward.
Touted as the “Best View from the Best Train in the World,” the GoldStar Service is an innovation that the railroad debuted in 2005 when it added two new double-deck dome cars to its fleet.
The railroad purchased two more cars in 2007 and the new cars were put into service on the Denali Star passenger service in 2008.
High demand for the GoldStar Service aboard the Denali Star train led the railroad to purchase two more of the $4 million luxury dome cars in 2008.
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